


The he's no Gentleman Job

by Spademyheart



Category: Leverage, The Blacklist (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gutterbugs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-26
Updated: 2015-08-12
Packaged: 2018-04-11 07:51:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 38,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4427330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spademyheart/pseuds/Spademyheart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Red and Liz are on the run and need some help from the Leverage team. Takes place before Nathan and Sophie get engaged and leave for parts unknown</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Liz thought they would go immediately to an airstrip and fly out of the country as soon as possible, but here they were in another car riding along another dusty road. Drivers and vehicles were changed every 12 hours, and would bring with them a picnic basket filled with all the necessities of a meal with fruit, cheese, and nuts to snack on until the next change. The cars were nondescript, nothing luxury, the need to keep a low profile paramount. If they needed to relieve themselves it was usually on the side of the road, occasionally there was a rest area. A note from Dembe had arrived from the first relief driver and Red was none too happy. He’d written a hasty note in return on the back of the one he had read and sent it back with the driver being relieved. He walked into the bushes to take care of his needs and Liz walked a little in the other direction to do the same. 

She walked back to the car and saw that Red had yet to return, she started feeling a little panicky as she looked in the direction she had seen him walking, but he came in to view before that panic could really take hold. She must not have cleared her feelings off her face, because he gave her a reassuring smile as he walked up to her and took her by the elbow and led her to the car. He was extremely tense when they loaded up into the new vehicle, she could feel it rolling off of him in waves.

She waited for him to tell her what the note was about, giving him time to sort his thoughts and, of course, censor what he would tell her. She expected it. It still hurt though. After 10 miles of silence she finally realized she was going to have to ask. “What is it Red? The note couldn’t have been good, you haven’t said a word since then, I assume it was from Dembe?” She was trying to keep the emotions out of her voice, he was doing everything in his power to keep her safe, the least she could do was try to clamp down on the grief, panic and all the other stuff whirling around inside her head. 

Red knew she had questions, he could hear her thinking. He was surprised when she didn’t start in the second the car started rolling. He was just deciding how much to reveal to her. He wasn’t sure how she would react when he told her they would have to split up for a little while. The contingency plan he had in place was working out well, but then he had gotten the note and he knew he would need to get in contact with someone he hadn’t since before he turned himself into the FBI and he would not rest until he had Lizzie somewhere safe. He reached for her and rubbed soothing circles on her hand with his thumb. 

“We were going to stay in a series of safe houses until we could leave the country, but Dembe said that the FBI has already compromised two of them, and we aren’t even there yet,” he shook his head and huffed a laugh, “I suspected Donald would slip on a few banana peels before getting his bearings, but it seems the cabal may clearing the way for him. I asked Dembe to reach out to someone I doubt even the cabal knows I have ties with. Hopefully on our next stop we will have our answer. Until then lets try to relax and enjoy the journey.” He gave her a tight smile and turned to look out the window leaving his hand in hers since she hadn’t pulled away. He suspected she needed the contact as much as he did.

They traveled for four long, grueling days, the trip taking longer than it normally would with their need to stay off the main roads as much as possible. Some of the roads so rarely used that they would have to stop and remove downed trees or debris before they could move on, thankfully it was never anything too challenging for them. 

Liz was aware of her attraction to Reddington, it had always been there, who wasn't attracted to him, she fought her attraction by either ignoring him or being angry and lashing out at him. But seeing him without his jacket and tie, a few buttons of his shirt undone, his sleeves rolled up, and his muscles straining while he worked to clear a path made her weak in the knees and a searing heat to coil between her legs. Red teased her with suggestive comments in conversation, though not overly so, which left her not knowing if it was just part of who he was and he treated everyone that way or if he was actually interested in her. She tried to keep her thoughts away from that line of thinking too much, they were on the run after all and this wasn't the time to test out the waters. 

She didn't push him for answers or ask where they were going, trusting him with all the details and knowing he needed to think and plan. She didn't think he did much sleeping, but he never complained while she used him as a pillow to sleep.

On the fourth day of travel they finally reached Portland, Oregon. Red reluctantly shook Lizzie awake as they pulled up in front of a large brick building. Liz woke to Red's firm shaking of her shoulder with one hand while he gently stroked the hair out of her face with the other. 

She smiled up at him and noticed his small smile and questioning brows, then she came fully awake as the last few days came rushing back. She sat upright and looked at their surroundings, immediately missing his warm touch. It was dark outside, she must have slept longer than she thought, she grabbed Red's wrist to check the time… just after 11 pm. They were in front of a brick building, she could just make out the sign in the dim light of the street lamp. Her head shot around to look accusingly at Red. 

“A brewery? Really Red? I was hoping for a hotel, I would give anything for a long hot shower and a fresh change of clothes and you bring me to a brewery? It's after 11pm, are they even open? You can't be this desperate for a beer.” 

His smug smile causing her eyes to become mere slits as she glared at him.

Red chuckled lightly at Lizzie's reaction. He stepped out and extended his hand to help her out of the car. “I could use a beer, but that is not why we are here, my contact has offices in the back.” He left it at that, hoping she would continue to follow his lead without question. 

He led her to the front door and fished a key out of his pocket. He looked up to see the question in Lizzie's eyes. “Our last driver delivered the key in our basket, with a note that the owner is expecting us.” 

He unlocked and opened the door then stood aside for Lizzie to precede him. 

As they made their way to the back, Liz tried to imagine what type of contact Red could have that had offices in a brewery. The vast array of colorful characters Red did business with would never cease to amaze her. She thought of Mr. Vargas, the hair, his manner of dress, even the way he held himself was comical. She’d never spoken to him, but had seen him as he was leaving one of Red’s safe house’s. She couldn’t contain a small giggle as she remembered how she had made up voices in her head that she thought might fit him. She saw Red look at her questioningly in her peripheral vision, but before she could think about what to tell him a tall, lanky man came around a corner and startled her. 

Red put a hand on her back to calm her as he greeted the newcomer. “Hardison! Fantastic to see you. Thank you for letting us stay over for what’s left of the night. This is Elizabeth, the young woman I told Nate about. Lizzie, this is Hardison,” he gestured between the two of them, then put his hand on Hardison’s shoulder and looked at Lizzie and tilted his head back and forth, “Hardison is like the Aram of the criminal world,” he looked back to Hardison with lifted brows, “Were you able to get the things Dembe requested?”

“Yeah man, everything’s in the back office.” He yawned as he motioned for them to follow him and lead them to the correct office, “There’s a small bathroom with a shower to freshen up, and I pulled out the futon for you guys. Nate and the rest of us will be here about nine in the morning to go over whatever it is you have planned,” he paused then looked at Red with an expression of pride, “You know I came up with a brilliant plan…”

Red cut him off before he got too excited, “Thank you, Hardison, we have had an exhausting journey though, can we talk more about this plan of yours in the morning?” Red gave him a brilliant smile.

“Oh, uh sure, I mean yeah, you guys must be beat. I guess I’ll see you in the morning.” He nodded to Liz once again before he left the room.

Red turned to Lizzie then. “Go ahead and have the first shower and crawl into bed. I have a phone call to make and then I will take my turn, just save me a blanket will you?” He turned to walk into the main room.

Lizzie put her hand on his arm to stop him, and she tried not to sound worried. “Wait, where are you going to sleep?”

Red patted her hand comfortingly. “There are several other offices here Lizzie, I am sure one of them has a comfortable couch I can rest on. I don’t sleep much and will wake you in time to get ready before the team shows up,” he gestured to the bags across the room, “Your bag is the large blue one over there, Dembe will have made sure to let them know your size and preferences, all the necessities should be in there as well ”

Liz let go of his arm and looked down at the ground, feeling a little awkward. “Can we keep the doors open in case I need you in the night?” She looked up to see what he thought of her request and from the smirk on his face she realized just where his thoughts had gone. She rolled her eyes. “I have been having nightmares lately and I don’t want to wake up somewhere I’m not familiar with and not know where you are.”

His face immediately changed to concern. “Of course Lizzie, I won’t go too far so I will be able to hear if you call,” he touched her shoulder once more before leaving the room.

She watched him walk away and then walked over to grab her bag and head into the shower. the bathroom was more of a small closet with a toilet, sink and a small corner shower, there would barely be enough room to lift her hands to wash her hair. Oh well, as long as the water was warm. She wondered how Red would fare with his broad shoulders and muscular back. She stopped herself before getting carried away, reminding herself this was not the time, nor the place. 

She rifled through the bag, finding a light blue t-shirt with small sheep patterned on it and matching shorts. She held them up with a smile and wondered who had picked these. There was also a white bra and panty set and a navy and white striped v-neck top and a pair of white skinny jeans and a pair of wedge heels to compliment the outfit on the bottom of the bag. She pulled out the toiletries bag and noticed there was also a makeup bag and what looked to be a small box to hold jewelry, whoever packed this bag had thought of everything. There was even a mesh bag to put the clothes she was taking off. She turned on the shower and and waited a minute for the water to heat before stepping in. It felt so good, almost orgasmic, after four days without one, she didn’t realize how much she took for granted the luxury of a simple shower.

Red waited until he heard the shower turn on before making his call. Hardison had left the burner phone on the counter as per Dembe’s instructions. He had been assured that the call would not be traced to this location, anyone tracing the call would believe it originated in Fiji. He dialed the number and took a breath to calm himself before the call connected. A moment later he heard a short clipped voice on the other end. 

“Ressler”

Red smiled into the phone and made sure his voice was jovial. “Donald, how nice to hear your voice, have you missed me?”

“Cut the bullshit Reddington, where is she?” He looked over to make sure Aram was tracing the call and at his nod he continued, “We have every available resource on this, we will find you both!” 

Red laughed into the phone. “Oh come now Donald, we both know how horrible you are at tracking me,” he knew Donald would take offense, he needed to throw him off his game for a moment, “Besides she isn’t even with me, last I heard she was sailing off with Tom or Jacob or whatever he is calling himself these days.”

Ressler wasn’t buying Reddington’s act. “You know as well as I do that she would never go with him after everything he did to her and the team. No matter what anyone says I know she is innocent and loyal. You need to bring her in, we can help her to clear her name, she will face charges for Tom Connolly, but I am sure you can pull a few strings on that score.” He couldn’t believe Reddington was talking to him for this long, he had to know they were tracing the call. Maybe Reddington was telling the truth and Liz really wasn’t with him.

Red listened to Donald’s spiel. He was either trying to trick him into giving them Lizzie or dear old Donnie had no idea where Lizzie had spent her last night in D.C. He shuddered to think of it himself, oh how he wished Lizzie could see him as a man, he wished it could have been him she turned to when she needed comfort, but their relationship was still a bit shaky. He hoped that with time away from all the stress she would start to at least trust him again. He decided to test the waters, he knew Donald had feelings for her, though he knew without a doubt Lizzie thought of him like a brother and not a lover. 

“So I take it you don’t know she spent her last night in D.C. with him on his new boat? I talked to her just before her arrest and she told me he had asked her to sail away with him.” He heard Donald’s sharp intake of breath and knew he had hit his mark.

“Why would she do that? I can’t even begin to understand what she could have been thinking.” He ran his hand roughly through his hair.

Red chuckled. “I can’t help you with that Donald, but I am glad we had this little chat, now you know where to start looking. If we are going to keep up our little deal, you know the most important part is, I speak only with Elizabeth Keen,” with that he hung up the phone and took the battery out, broke the phone in two and threw it in the garbage, making sure to throw a couple paper towels on top to keep Lizzie from seeing it. He spotted a bottle of scotch and a glass on the table in the corner and smiled, he walked over to pour himself a glass and sat down to savor it while he waited for Lizzie to finish in the bathroom.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Red introduces Liz to the Leverage team

Red heard Lizzie thrash around and whimper only a couple of times during the night, each time he sat on the bed and stroked the scar on her wrist and she calmed without waking. He liked to think it was his touch more so than the stroking of her scar that calmed her. 

Morning came all too soon for his liking as he wasn’t looking forward to leaving Lizzie here. He showered, dressed and was now standing over her, taking a few minutes to watch her sleep before he had to wake her. She smiled in her sleep, he was loathe to wake her from whatever pleasant dream she was dreaming. 

He hoped that she would see the value of splitting up for a while and not be too upset with him. He sighed and ran a hand over his face, he should tell her now before everyone got here, but he knew if he waited for the others to be there, she would be less likely to fight him on it. 

He leaned over and shook her gently. She batted his hand away and mumbled something incoherent. He laughed, she was so adorable. “Wake up sleepyhead, the others will be here soon.”

Liz looked at Red with sleep still clouding her vision. Seeing the light streaming through the windows, she was startled that it was already morning. “I slept the whole night? Wow, I had expected to only sleep a couple of hours, since that has been my norm lately.” She sat up and rubbed her eyes trying to wake up more fully.

Red smiled lazily down at her. “You tossed and turned a bit, but that’s all.” He decided not to tell her he touched her in her sleep, however innocently, not sure how she would take it.

“Nate, my contact, called and said they were bringing coffee, so I suggest you move that pretty little ass of yours and get ready.” 

She looked at little stunned and he realized what he had said. He coughed to cover any embarrassment over having voiced his inner thoughts and hooked his thumb over his shoulder to indicate the other room. “I need to go over a few notes before Nate and his team arrive while you get ready.” With that he turned and strode out of the room, unaware of Lizzie’s appreciative gaze of his backside.

Liz showered and dressed in record time, not wanting to meet Red’s contact looking anything but her best. There was a full length mirror on the bathroom door so Liz could admire herself. She turned this way and that, she looked good, the clothes fit her perfectly, not just in size, but style too. They weren’t Target style, but neither were they fancy designer apparel. She felt like herself, and not like she was playing a part. She silently thanked again the thoughtful soul who packed the bag for her. 

As she stepped out of the bathroom, she could hear voices. Crap, they were already here, she must have taken longer than she thought. Oh well, the end result was worth it, she was feeling confident, and ready to take on whatever needed to be done. 

Red walked over and met her as soon as she stepped out of the room, taking hold of her elbow and gently guiding her the rest of the way into the room to stand in front of his contact. “Everyone, this is Elizabeth, Lizzie, this rugged fellow is Nathan Ford, he is a skilled planner and chess player, although he has yet to win against me.”

“I’ve been practicing, Ray, you may soon become the underdog.” He lifted his cup to Lizzie in greeting noting how Red seemed a little too protective of her.

Liz sensed that Nathan was more than he seemed, but couldn’t quite put her finger on it. “Nice to meet you. Thank you for helping us out, I know you are taking a great risk in doing so.”

Nate shrugged. “No more than usual.” 

Nate nodded his head in Liz’s direction, “From what I hear you have been too busy to hone your skills.” 

Red knew Nate was alluding to more than his chess skills, but what Nate did not know was that Lizzie wasn’t just some passing fling, she was his future. He chuckled good naturedly. “My skills are honed to perfection, you are just jealous.”

Turning to the woman next to Nate, “This lovely woman is Sophie, a talented grifter, multilingual, and an occasional actress.”

Sophie reached out and shook Liz’s hand, wondering about the relationship between the two. She had seen Raymond with women before, but he seemed a little possessive of this one, something she hadn’t seen with the others. “A pleasure to meet you. I noticed Raymond introduced you as Elizabeth, but calls you Lizzie, do you have a preference?”

Lizzie was a little taken back by her forthright manner but something in her eyes made Lizzie warm to her instantly. “Liz is fine, I think he calls me Lizzie to irritate me.” She raised her brows at him to see if he would unwittingly give a little away. He just smiled and tilted his head. Turning back to Sophie, she smiled. “It’s a pleasure to meet you too.”

Sophie eyed Liz’s outfit. “You look amazing. Everything seems to fit you well. Was everything to your satisfaction?”

Liz looked down at her outfit. “Yes, thank you. The clothes are perfect. It was really very thoughtful,” she looked back at Sophie, “I take it you packed the bag for me?” 

“I did, but I can’t take all the credit. Parker picked out your pajamas and Dembe was very specific when it came to your likes and dislikes.” She looked at Red while she said, “He seems to know you rather well.”

Red bristled a bit, but hid it well with a smile. He wanted to shout that he was the one who had detailed everything about Lizzie in the contingency plan, always amending it when he found out something new about her, knowing that someday it would go into effect. He thought it might not be ideal though for Lizzie to know just how well he paid attention to her. At this point in their relationship she would probably consider it slightly creepy. 

He continued with the introductions. “This young man with the zen-like demeanor is Elliot. He is an exceptionally skilled fighter and gourmet chef.” Red laughed and shook his head. “Such a contradiction, I know, but it works for him.”

Elliot gave Red a stern look, but gave Lizzie a winning smile as he turned to her, he grasped her hand and kissed her knuckles, chuckling at Red’s glare. “It is always a pleasure to meet a beautiful woman.”

Lizzie blushed under his attentions. Elliot was a handsome man to be sure, but he was no Red. She mentally shook her head, why must she always compare every man to him. She withdrew her hand from his. “Thank you. It is very nice to meet you as well.”

Red turned her toward Hardison. “This man you have already met.”

Hardison extended his hand for a fist bump with one hand, which Lizzie returned, if not a little awkwardly. “Hey, hey.” With the other hand he handed her a cup of coffee, “You could probably use this.” 

“Oh yes, thank you.” Lizzie took the cup and inhaled the scent as Hardison made his way over to the large screen on the wall and waited for the introductions to finish.

Red then turned Lizzie’s attention to the petite blonde woman eyeing her cautiously. “And this little fireball is Parker.” He felt Lizzie tense beside him.

Liz’s eyes grew wide for a moment as she gawked at the woman in front of her. Stunned for the moment and unable to form a sentence.

Parker looked at Liz like she had grown two horns. “Uh, nice to meet you?” Parker, being Parker, even with Sophie’s guidance was still not well versed in the social niceties. “Is she going to stare at me the whole time, ‘cause it’s kind of weird.”

That seemed to break Liz out of her stupor. “I’m sorry it’s really nice to meet you, but of all the people I expected Red to introduce me to, I never thought it would be you. I mean THE Parker. The FBI has been looking for you for quite a while.” 

Parker continued to eye her for a moment more with narrowed eyes. “You aren’t here to turn me in or anything are you?  ‘Cause I won’t go.” she walked over and leaned her shoulder against Hardison.

Red was quick to jump in. Laughing. “Of course not! She is currently on the run from the FBI herself, so you two have that in common.” Parker seemed to relax at that, but still eyed Liz warily. “Now that the introductions are out of the way, why don’t we get down to business.”

Nate walked over to where Red and Liz now stood. “You said you had something for me. A favor for a favor,” glancing at Liz then back to Red, “I know what you want, what is it that you think I want?”

Red nods his head and looks Nate square in the eyes for a moment, then simply says. “Gwilym.”

Nate heard his team’s collective gasp. They knew he had been looking for a way to infiltrate the irishman’s network, but had as of yet been unable to find out any details about his business, figuring he must do his dealings with limited use of technology making it difficult for Hardison to find any information.

Liz looked between the two men. Nate’s eyes had widened at the name, but as of yet he hadn’t said anything. Liz decided to ask Red. “Who is Gwilym?” At Red’s cat that ate the canary smile, she knew he was waiting for just such an opening.

Red launched right in with his explanation, “Gwilym MacAuley, known as ‘The Gentleman’, is owner of some high class gentleman's clubs all over the world. But what gets him on the Blacklist is that the clubs are fronts for all the different kinds of criminal activities Gwilym facilitates in the back rooms of these clubs, from gun dealers, drug runners and flesh peddlers to terrorist groups. He provides a safe meeting place with no possibility of surveillance. He also smuggles whatever contraband these groups need in his daily deliveries, using decoy trucks and people to distract any law enforcement so he can get away clean.

Lizzie thought that all sounded a little familiar. “So he is like you?”

Red looked quite offended at her observation, and with a pout on his face said, “He is nothing like me Lizzie, I am the Concierge of Crime, he is something more akin to a bellhop.”

He gestured more with his hands now, Lizzie realized that it was because of her comment and he was using his gestures to distract her. She smiled inwardly as she took a sip of her coffee,  loving that she could goad him a little.

Red had a look of distaste on his face. “I have used him on a few occasions but I have a huge dislike for the man, he is a brutish, evil man who enjoys the company of the underage girls the flesh peddlers sell.”

He turned back to Nate. “I was hoping we could use him to get the FBI off my tail long enough to get Lizzie and I out of the country, he should prove to be too distracting a morsel to ignore.”

At Nate’s nod, he continued, “I happen to know that there is a vicious little warlord in Cameroon who just took over after the position was just recently left vacant.” He turned and smiled at Lizzie, knowing she would understand just how the position had become open. Her eyes widened. 

Red looked pleased with himself. “He is currently looking to purchase weapons. I told him I would put someone in contact with him about that.”

Nate was nodding his head already formulating how his team would play their parts. “Okay, so Raymond will put us in contact with this warlord and with Gwilym, providing us with the means to infiltrate his organization with a legitimate business deal.”

Red watched Nate, finding it interesting to watch this man’s mind work, he wondered if that’s how he looked while planning.

Nate turned to Sophie. “You will go in as the warlord’s mediator to broker the deal and gather a bit of information.”

Red helpfully supplied the man’s name. “Rodrigue.”

Nate then addressed Elliot. “You will go with Sophie as a bodyguard. She will demand you be part of the transport of the guns to ensure the deal is kept, that way we will know exactly which truck they will be in.”

He turned to Hardison and Parker. “I will need you two to get in contact with Agents Taggert and McSweeten. Tell them you are working this case and need their help. Once we draw out Gwilym, they can make the arrest.”

Hardison groaned. “No man, just no. Why do we have to be the FBI? I have a brilliant plan I think will work so much better… “

Both Elliot and Nate shouted in unison. “Dammit, Hardison!”

Liz feeling awkward with the exchange, glanced at Red. He was still smiling at them all and seemed unaffected by it, as if it was a normal occurrence. 

Hardison help up his hands and sniffed a bit. “Whatever, if you want to do it your way that’s fine, I’ll just stay over here in my corner.”

Parker rubbed his back in a comforting gesture. “It’s ok, at least we'll be together.”

Hardison smiled back at her and bit his bottom lip. “Yeah, there is that.”

Nate smiled to himself. “I will pose as a gentleman in the club and inquire about any “special” deals they might have for a V.I.P. client. I should be able to get invited into a back room to deal with some of the flesh peddlers, to perfect my cover.”

Turning back to Sophie, Nate prodded her into motion. “You should iron out your character details quickly, I want to get as much information about the inside as possible before we all go in.”

Liz waited for him to tell her what she and Red would be doing, but Nathan seemed lost in thought and Red wouldn’t look at her. She started to get a sinking feeling. She turned to Nate when his team started leaving to busy themselves on getting ready for their respective parts. “What will Red and I be doing?”

Nate turned to her then as just remembering her. “Well I can’t have you out in the mix, your face is everywhere and you will compromise my team. You will have to stay here and monitor the activities from a distance.”

She really wanted to be in on the action, but understood why she couldn’t. She looked between Red and Nate who were sharing a look she couldn’t quite decipher. “What will Red’s role be in all of this?”

Red decided that now would be the time to let her know he was going to leave her for a bit, he had held off long enough. “I need to fly to Florence for a few days and find something, well, someone to distract Nate’s Interpole shadow, James Sterling.”

The more Red said, the more upset Liz became. She knew exactly who was in Florence. She also knew she had no reason to be jealous, it’s not like she and Red were in a relationship, but she couldn’t quite hide the jealous note in her voice. “I take it you are going to wine and dine Madeline.”

Red heard her jealously and was pleased, but didn’t let it show, as much as he found feisty Lizzie sexy, he needed her to be calm and wait this out while he worked on getting them to safety. “It’s not a social call Lizzie, I just need to see what she is working on at the moment and make sure those details get relayed to Mr. Sterling.”

Liz had crossed her arms over her chest and was currently looking everywhere but at him. She had no right to want or need Red to be with her every step of the way, but she had selfishly thought he would be. He probably had beautiful women waiting for him at every stop, why would he want to stay with her. But she found herself asking anyway. “Fine, you are coming back, right?” 

Red looked surprised that she even asked, though he wasn’t in the least. After everything Tom put her through it was no wonder that she questioned her value as a woman. “Of course Lizzie, I will always be there for you, as long as you need me. If I could do this without a face to face I would, but Maddie knows how I operate and if I deviate from that at all she will become suspicious and I won’t be able to lead Sterling to her.”

Everyone had left to prepare and Nate had left moments ago to give them privacy. He opened his arms to her in invitation, but not making a move toward her, leaving the decision to her.

Liz felt the weight of everything push her down, she had been holding it together only because she knew Red was right there with her. 

Now he was leaving and she needed to be strong on her own, but it couldn’t hurt to draw some strength from him for just a moment. She stepped into his arms and put her arms around him as he encircled her in a tight hug.

She inhaled his scent, it always seemed to have a calming effect on her, no matter how much frustration and chaos he brought into her life, his scent was like… home.

She stepped back reluctantly after a few minutes, nodding her head in the affirmative to assure herself more than him. “Okay, I can do this. I hate being sidelined, but I understand why.” 

She saw the look of relief on his face and was quick to clarify lest he think she would be just as malleable in the future.  “Please don’t take this as an indication of how I will react in the future. This is about me as well as you. I need to be kept in the loop and doing something productive in the future.”

Red shook his head, he knew her ready acceptance of his plan would come with a caveat of some sort. “Of course Lizzie, I will do my best. We can talk more about that when I get back”

He moved to walk past her and stopped to smile at her, he gave into the temptation and gave her a lingering kiss to her cheek, he could have sworn she leaned into it, but that could have been wishful thinking on his part. “Elliot is probably in the kitchen preparing breakfast, you can go in and see if he needs any help to keep your mind off things for a while. I need to get going, my jet is waiting.”

Liz smiled at him reassuringly. “I will be fine, please be safe” 

He nodded to her as he left, she watched him walk away until he turned the corner. She sighed and then went in search of the kitchen, she was feeling a bit peckish and hoped Red hadn’t been exaggerating about Elliot being a capable chef.


	3. Chapter 3

After breakfast they all met back in the office, except for Red, who was currently flying to Florence. Red had his people send over pictures of the warlord Rodrigue and more info on the blacklister Gwilym.

Hardison brought a photo up on the large screen. “This is Rodrigue. The info says he can be ruthless but Raymond installed him in Yaabari’s place to get a foothold in the region in a hope to gain more power and influence there for future dealings.” 

Hadison waved his hand through the air. “We don’t have to worry about him, as all contact with him will be done through one of Red’s men and the information relayed to me and then I’ll filter the stuff that matters to Elliot and Sophie,” 

He pushed a file across the bar to Sophie, “This is the information on the weapons deal you will need to establish first contact.”

Hardison laughed and looked at Parker who was grinning back at him. “You see what I did there, babe? That’s right Star Trek baaaby!”

As soon as he saw Nate’s glare, he quit smiling, hung his head and got back on track. 

Hardison brought up another series of photos. “This handsome man is Gwilym MacAuley,” he waggled his eyebrows at Sophie, “Try to keep your hands to yourself while you’re in there.”

The man was anything but handsome. He hunched his body with no grace or imagination. His eyes were soulless, almost like a shark’s. Lizzie wondered what could have happened to transform someone so completely not just of mind, but body as well.

Hardison clicked through a series of photos and information. “Red’s intell depicts him as someone who looks on others with contempt and superiority as if they don’t count or matter. He is surrounded by guards at all times, it is incredibly difficult to take him by surprise, even when he takes women to his room for sex, there are bodyguards.” 

Parker scrunched up her nose and shivered at the image of that man procreating. 

Nate took over from there. “He may think he is invulnerable, but the things detailed in this report can be used as weaknesses. He is vain and probably has masculinity issues.”

Liz choked on a laugh. “Vain? Even he can’t think that face is handsome.”

Nate chuckled. “No, probably not, but he knows his wealth and power not only hide a multitude of sins, but can make a woman appeal to his vanity if she wants a taste of the good life.”

Nate looked at Sophie dotingly. “What name have you chosen for this job?”

Sophie didn’t hesitate as if this was her name all along. “Ada Eastman.”

Nate nodded pleased. “And how do you know Rodrigue?”

She smiled smugly. “My parents moved to central africa shortly after I was born for their humanitarian work. We lived in Libreville, Gabon. Once I came of age I became a freelance contractor using my American citizenship to move freely between the countries brokering deals for those trying to gain power in the less developed parts of the country.”

Nate turned to Elliot. “Okay, They will look for listening devices so make sure you don’t put in or activate your earpiece until you are inside, Sophie won’t be able to have one at all, so stay close.”

Nate showed Sophie a beautiful vintage Tibetan turquoise white stone ring with an inlaid silver band.  
Parker piped up when she saw the ring. “Ooh, pretty,” she looked back at Hardison as she said matter of factly, “But I prefer money.”  
Hardison rolled his eyes. “I know babe, I know.”

Sophie was taken aback by Nate’s sudden gift, but then Hardison started speaking and she realized it was just for the job. she focused her attention on Hardison and tried to hide her disappointment.  
Liz thought that Sophie and Nate’s relationship might be a little like the one she had with Red. A professional one, but each maybe hoping the other returned their affection. She just hoped Red’s affection for her was more than just his desire to protect her.  
Hardison explained that the ring was more than it seemed. “By pressing on the indentation on the side of the band you will be able to take pictures. Don’t worry about running out of room, I will be nearby in Lucille and loading the pictures onto my computer as soon as you take them.”  
Nate slipped the ring on Sophie’s finger. He knew she was disappointed that it had not been a gift, he would have to remedy that later. “Be discreet, but I would like to get as good of a picture of the back areas as we can to map out any escape if it becomes necessary.”  
Nate backed away and watched as Elliot and Sophie left to make their way out to go to the Airstrip and the jet Red managed to have waiting for them. Motioning Liz to another office, “Sophie brought a large box containing some more clothing for you.” He clapped his hands and turned back to Parker and Hardison, “Alright, while Sophie and Elliot get to travel in style, we have no such luxury. Let’s get going, New York awaits us.” He turned and left the room with Parker following close behind.

Liz looked a little lost. Hardison handed her a burner phone. “Mine and Nate’s numbers have been programmed just in case there’s an emergency, the staff has been told you’re staying here, just press this intercom and someone will take your order and bring it to you.”

Liz tried to smile like she didn’t have all the cares of the world pressing down on her. “Thanks Hardison, I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

He walked over to a small cabinet in the corner of the room. “Parker and I have a bunch of DVD’s over here if you want to watch. Not sure what you’re into,” he handed her a small remote, “This is a smart tv, so you can watch netflix if you want, just press this red button to bring it up. Stay off the social media, we don’t want anyone knowing you’re here.”

Liz put the remote down on the bar in front of the big screen. “I’m sure I will probably sleep most of the time, the last few days have been pretty rough.”

Hardison looked at her with sympathy. “I understand, like I said if there is an emergency we are just a phone call away.” He turned and left the room leaving Liz alone. 

She tried not to think of Red and what he would be up to.

 

********************************************************************************************************

Red was restless on the flight over to Florence. He would need to be on his toes for this meeting with Maddie, any slip up on his part would set her on guard.

When they arrived, he and Dembe settled in for the night in the luxurious hotel. The main room was done in beautifully muted earth tones. A comfortable couch and a couple of matching armchairs took full advantage of the truly inspirational view of the rolling tuscan landscape that Red appreciated. He wished Lizzie could be here with him to see. There was a fully stocked bar, Red walked over to it to make sure his drink of choice had been provided, he saw it had with a quiet smile. The bedroom had a large king size bed covered in authentic handmade tuscan linen with blankets instead of a comforter per his request, it faced a large windowed wall.

The next day he showered quickly and dressed in a fresh cream colored linen suit, grabbed the matching fedora off the table and let himself out to meet Dembe in the lobby where they would set off to take care of some business before his meeting with Maddie later that afternoon. Red groaned inwardly, he really wasn’t looking forward to this, but it needed to be done. He just hoped he could get it done quickly and head back to Portland to be with Lizzie. If Lizzie only knew how much he cared for her, she wouldn’t be feeling jealous of Maddie.

The Cafe Maddie had chosen was a about 20 minutes from where they were staying. As he walked into the cafe, he was approached by a waiter who ushered him to a table in the back where Maddie was already seated. 

Madeline smiled when she saw him walking towards her. She had been wondering what he could want since he phoned her the day before, hopefully he wasn’t feeling vengeful for the Kings. He was probably here for the awful painting she had taken in retribution for the effigy. All thoughts of his motives went out the window however as he leaned down to give her a kiss on the lips in greeting and set himself opposite her.

Red was his most charming self as he greeted her. “Maddie my dear, you look ravishing. How have you been?”

Maddie loved compliments about her beauty. She was vain and Red knew just how to stroke her ego. “I am doing well as you can see. To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?”

Red chuckled and grinned at her. “Can’t a man want to spend a little while in the company of a beautiful woman?”

Maddie smiled back, enjoying their banter. “Of course, but there is always an ulterior motive with you,” she leaned forward to put her cleavage on display and ran her fingertip over the back of the hand he had resting on the table, “So spit it out so we can begin to enjoy ourselves.”

He made a show of being enthralled with her assets. “I really do just want to spend a little time with you, I am on business of course, but I would feel cheated if I came and went without the pleasure of seeing you.” He knew he had her when she seemed to melt before him.

Maddie looked up at him from beneath her lashes. “So you aren’t mad at me for what happened at the auction?”

Red laughed. “Of course not, you were upset over my not running away with you and for what happened with the effigy, I just hadn’t had the time to properly”, He paused to lean forward and brush his fingertips over her collarbone, “smooth things over,” he glanced back up to meet her eyes, “Give me a chance to set things right.”

She smiled brightly at him, she didn’t trust him as far as she could throw him, but who was she to back away from good sex, and from the look in his eyes he was definitely offering. “Why don’t we go back to my place and finish this conversation, hmm?” 

Red stood and pulled out Maddie’s chair for her. He had drugs in his pocket to loosen her tongue and then put her to sleep. He had no intention of having sex with her. 

He had tired of meaningless sex ever since he had turned himself in to the FBI and saw the beautiful woman Lizzie had become walk down those stairs, and now he wanted something much more substantial with Lizzie. He just needed patience, and long baths, yes, long baths were going to play a large part.

Red threw some money on the table to cover their drinks and took Maddie by the elbow to escort her to his car. 

Red was relieved when they finally reached her place, she was all over him in the backseat, he had caught Dembe’s laughing eyes in the rearview mirror a couple of times.

Once inside Red opened a bottle of wine and joined Maddie on the balcony and poured them each a glass. 

Maddie walked over to where he was standing and pressed herself against him. “Let me put on something a little more comfortable,” she reached around and cupped his bottom and gave it a little squeeze, “I’ll be right back.”

As soon as she was in the other room, Red took out the pill he had in his pocket and added it to her drink, this added with a few glasses of wine should get the information he wanted before she passed out. He had just finished with her glass and turned around to see her coming out of her room, in a almost see through silk very short lingerie slip. He walked over to her and handed her her glass and pulled her against him. “How about a few drinks on the balcony before playtime.” He waggled his eyebrows and bent to give her a kiss. He took her hand and pulled her along back outside.

Within 30 minutes he had all the information he needed. Maddie had let slip a few details regarding her next contract. Once she passed out he did a quick search around her place and found her notes detailing everything. He pulled out the slim camera Dembe had given him earlier and took pictures of everything before putting it all back and heading out the door. 

When he got to the car he handed the camera to Dembe. “Have this sent anonymously to Sterling, and call the pilot. I want to be wheels up within the hour.”

The original plan was to spend the night and leave in the morning. He was going to tell Maddie that she had gotten so drunk she had passed out on him, and she could make it up to him later. But now he had no desire to see her again, he only wanted to get back to Lizzie. 

 

********************************************************************************************************

Sophie and Nate arrived at the club at eight pm, just as the club was opening. The large man at the front door let them in after verifying their identities and scanning for any listening or surveillance devices. 

The bartender was surrounded by a huge square island in the middle of the room, showered in blue lights, bar stools all along the perimeter, starting to fill up. On one side of the island the top was covered in flashing colored lights and three poles along the surface extended to the ceiling waiting for the ladies to dance atop it. Off to one side was a stage with a pole and an area with small tables and low chairs and enough space in between for the ladies to dance and flirt with the customers. Through a large archway a long red and gold baroque patterned couch that extended around three of the walls was visible, a few small footstools sat around in the middle of the room. There were several rooms along the walls, the entryways covered with thick curtains for private dances. 

They made their way to the back and through the open door with a bodyguard standing outside, they walked down a long corridor until they got to another bodyguard who searched them again before letting them in.

Sophie preceded Elliot into the room. It was filled with exquisite mahogany furniture and leather chairs. A large desk against the far wall, a door was behind it leading to another part of the office. There were two very comfortable looking chairs in between a round end table. A beautiful persian rug graced the floor. 

While Sophie took at seat to wait for their mark, Elliot discreetly placed his earpiece in his ear, in case they were being watched. He covered his mouth and pretended to cough, “We’re in, Hardison.” 

He waited a moment but heard nothing. When Sophie looked at him, he shook his head to let her know he had yet to make contact. Hardison better hurry up and get set up or they were going to have to do this blind. 

They waited only a few minutes before the door behind the desk opened and Gwilym walked in. He did not smile, but he did rake his lecherous gaze across Sophie's body, making her shiver, though not from delight. She stood, approached the desk with a small shy smile and extended her hand. “Hello Mr. MacAuley.” He took her hand and kissed the back of it, but didn’t release it. “I am here on behalf of Rodrigue of Cameroon. I believe he made an appointment for me?”

Gwilym finally released her hand. And again gave her a heated look from her toes back up to her head now that she was standing. “Yeah, he did. But he didn’t tell me he was sending such a beauty.” He smiled finally, but it didn’t reach his eyes, they were still flat and lifeless.

Gwilym questioned Sophie for long minutes on how she met Rodrigue and came to be doing business with him and what specifically was needed. Only stopping once he seemed satisfied with her answers. 

“If you will excuse me for a moment, I will make a call and set up a meeting with a gun dealer who I think will be able to meet your needs.” He got up and went back through the connecting door.

Sophie glanced at Elliot, he shook his head again to indicate he had yet to hear from Nate or Hardison. He had a bad feeling, something didn’t feel right. He could tell by the look Sophie was giving him that she felt the same. It wasn’t like Nate to be late.

The waited a few more minutes but Gwilym never came back. Elliot heard a hissing sound and looked up at the vents, there were white gaseous clouds swirling down towards them. 

Elliot rushed over and grabbed Sophie to get her to move. “We need to get out of here now!”   
He tried the door, but it was locked. He tried to break it down a few times. “It must be reinforced, lets try that office door Gwilym came through.” 

He was starting to feel the effects of the gas, he had to get them out before they passed out. He tried the other door, but it would not budge, much like the other one. He looked back to find Sophie passed out on the floor behind him. 

“Dammit, Hardison!” Elliot growled out, before passing out inelegantly near Sophie.


	4. Chapter 4

Nate was fuming by the time they were able to get through the security checkpoints. The airport was on some kind of high terrorist alert, If they didn’t hurry they would be late, and he didn’t want Elliot and Sophie in Gwilym’s place without some kind of backup. It was eight pm by the time they all packed into Hardison’s van that had been shipped over the night prior by some of Red’s men.

Nate was sure Sophie and Elliot had already left the club, but they couldn’t be reached. “Drive to the club Hardison, let’s make sure they aren’t still inside.” He had a terrible feeling something was wrong. “Then we can head to the meeting point and see if they’re there.”

They drove in silence, neither Parker nor Hardison wanting to test the edges of Nate’s patience. As they pulled around the back so as to garner the least amount of attention, Parker saw something in the alley way. “Stop! “Look over there, that looks a lot like Elliot.”

Nate was out of the van before she finished her sentence. He rushed over and sure enough, it was Elliot. He checked for a pulse, thankfully he found one. He smacked Elliot a few times trying to wake him up. “Wake up Elliot, nap time is over.”

Elliot groaned a few times before cracking his eyes open. “Sophie? He looked around the alley to see if he could see her. “Do you have her?”

Nate responded short and clipped. “No.” He tugged on Elliot and helped him to stand so they could get back to the van. 

Once there, he climbed in back with Elliot and tried to control the rage he felt at losing Sophie, but it was proving difficult. “Tell me what happened.” He ran his hands through his hair and over his face. “You were supposed to protect her Elliot, what the hell happened!”

Elliot’s head still hurt from the gas, and the volume Nate was currently using wasn’t helping. “I don’t know what happened, I’m sorry Nate.” He looked Nate in the eye so he could see his regret. “One minute we were talking to the guy, the next he excused himself and then this gas started pouring in from the vents, the doors were reinforced and bolted, I couldn’t break us out before the gas got to me.”

Nate thought for a moment. “If they wanted you guys dead, you would be. They need her alive for something.” He needed to calm down and think of a plan, he was no good to Sophie in this condition. 

There was a tap on the driver's side door. Hardison rolled down the window, instantly regretting it as the stench wafted in. There was a older homeless man, ragged and stinking of stale beer and other foul odors standing there. “Yeah? You need somethin’?”

The man coughed into the window. Hardison only just barely refrained from vomiting from the smell. “You here about the lady? ‘Cause I got a message for her boss.”

Nate leaned into the front of the van to see the man. “I’m her boss. What’s the message?”

The man shoved a note through the window, his arm reaching in front of Hardison’s face. “Come on man, I could have handed that to him, no need to rub all that nastiness all over me!” Hardison shook violently as if he could shake the smell away. 

The man started to turn away, but Nate stopped him. “Hey, wait a minute, how did you know I would be in this van?”

The man turned back around. “I didn’t, Gwilym said her boss would come for them, they left your guy there to be sure you would stop.” He turned back around a walked over toward the club’s entrance.

Nate sat back and glanced over the note quickly before relaying the information. “It’s from Gwilym and his gang. There’s an address, we need to be at this location tomorrow at ten am.” He looked down to read it thoroughly now. 

Elliot was quick to jump in. “Is there anything in there about why they took her? Everything seemed to be going fine, then BAM!”

Nate held up his hand to silence Eliiot so he could finish the note… “Yeah, apparently Gwilym has any private aircraft flying in checked out, that one you used came back connected to Reddington. He thinks Ray is trying to double cross him somehow.” Nate crumpled the note in his fist.

“What’s that address?” Hardison typed into his phone the address Nate gave him. “It’s at the harbor.”

Parker starts getting excited and hopping in her seat. “I know what we can do!”

Nate just shakes his head. “What Parker?” He knew it would be easier to listen to what she had to say rather than shut her down outright, or she would just be bursting with it the entire time.

“We still have our FBI friends in on this with us. Hardison and I can meet up with them early tomorrow and set up around the address at the docs. You go in and when you have Sophie they can swoop in and catch Gwilym, or if something goes wrong you have a whole FBI task force to back you up.” She shrugged and smiled happily.

Nate looked proud. “You know Parker that’s not half bad.” He was already formulating new plans. “Let’s get back to the hotel and you can contact your guys and we’ll get some rest before it’s game time tomorrow.” He felt a little lighter, he just hoped they were treating Sophie alright in the meantime. 

********************************************************************************************************

Sophie woke slowly. Her head felt like a jackhammer was being applied to it. She tried to get up from the chair she was in, but realized her hands were tied behind her. She squinted her eyes to shield them from the harsh glare of the room lights and tried to look through the dirty window, it was dark so no help there. A deep sound pierced the air, it sounded like a boat horn, must be the harbor. She looked around the room trying to see Elliot. She was alone.

She heard footsteps getting closer and then the door swung open revealing Gwilym and a burly bodyguard. “I see you’re awake finally.” He pulled a chair over in front of her and sat down. “So, tell me, why is Reddington sending his girl to spy on me?”

“I am not Reddington’s girl, I was sent by Rodrigue to broker a deal for weapons. It is a legitimate deal, have your sources check.” She had no idea how he had connected her to Reddington.

He narrowed his eyes at her and lunged forward and took hold of her jaw in a painful grasp. “Don’t lie to me! Giving me the truth will see you walking out that door with weapons in hand, anything else… well we can talk about that later.” He pushed her face to the side as he let go of her jaw.

Thinking of Nate and knowing he would come for her, helped to stave off some of the fear, though not all. “I am not lying to you, all I am here for is the weapons.” She made sure to hold his gaze so he could read her eyes.

Gwilym, shook his head from side to side, debating on whether or not to believe her, she sounded sincere. “You arrived in the jet Reddington uses as a decoy.”

“Yes, well it might be that Reddington lent Rodrigue the jet for this deal, but I was not a part of that. I was just sent for the weapons.” She wished she could hear Nate guiding her through the tough spots, she would never again take for granted the small comfort of hearing the teams voices in her ear.

He stroked his chin as he studied her. “I also know he is helping his girl escape from the FBI, rumor says she’s a beauty, that he’s obsessed with her.” 

He stood up and braced his hands on the arms of her chair, leaning in to her personal space, “You seem the kind of woman a man can get lost in.” He tried to kiss her but she turned her head and his lips landed on her cheek, he pushed himself forcefully up from the chair.

She risked a glance at him, he was pissed. She remembered Nate had said to appeal to his vanity. She looked at him seductively, relying on her instincts to carry her through her fear. “You haven't even bought me dinner and you expect a kiss, what kind of girl do you think I am?”

Gwilym was starting to warm to this woman, she had gumption, even though she was scared. “I know Reddington installed Rodrigue out there in a bid for power, it is likely that he would want to arm him to keep that area in his control.” He paced back and forth in front of her.

He circled around her chair. “Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. I sent a note to your boss when he picked your friend up from the alley at the club to meet here at ten am. If Reddington shows, you die, if it’s someone other than Red or his guys, I’ll let them take you.” 

He came to stand in front of her again and stroked her jaw where the bruising was starting to show. “If Reddington shows up, you’ll wish you had welcomed that kiss.” 

He marched out the door and disappeared, the guard followed and closed the door.

********************************************************************************************************

It took an eternity for ten am to arrive, as far as Nate was concerned. Hardison and Parker had left at 4 am to meet up with the FBI and debrief them. Elliot drove him to the meeting place but stayed in the van to run the comms since he was known already.

Nate walked up to the meeting site and through the warehouse door. He didn’t know what to expect, but he expected something. He was met inside by someone who looked to be a dockworker. “I’m here to see Gwilym MacAuley.”

The worker shrugged his shoulders and motioned him to follow, he said over his shoulder. “Gwilym isn’t here, he told me to take you to the woman,” he handed Nate a file, “This is the information on the weapons deal, the meeting is set for later this evening, be there with the funds.” He motioned Nate to a door and walked away.

Nate cautiously opened the door, seeing only Sophie in the middle of the room tied to a chair. “You ok?” He began to quickly untie her.

“Other than my arms aching from being tied behind my back, I'm fine.” As soon as she was untied she jumped from the chair. “What took you so long?”

Nate smiled, just happy she was ok. Then he noticed the bruising on her jaw, his smile turning to a frown. “What happened to your face?” 

He reached out to caress her jaw, and she leaned into his touch for a moment before moving away. “It’s fine, he just grabbed me once, it doesn’t even hurt, so let’s just get out of here.”

Nate spoke to the team as they made their way to the van. “Elliot pull up to the door, Parker and Hardison, as soon as we are out call in the FBI. The guy said Gwilym wasn’t here but we can’t be sure, we will meet you at the meeting spot when you can get away.”

Nate felt they should go back to Portland and regroup. The FBI had searched every inch of that warehouse with no sign of Gwilym, so Sophie was going to complete the weapons deal so they wouldn’t raise suspicions. 

Elliot and Sophie arrived at the meeting spot later that evening. Reddington’s people had supplied the funds and the deal was over in less than fifteen minutes. Elliot loaded the crates into the van and they headed to the airport where the crates would be loaded onto Red’s jet to be taken to Cameroon and they would fly back to Portland with the rest of the team on a commercial flight.

********************************************************************************************************

Liz was bored. She had watched a few DVDs and some netflix, there were no good books to read, just tech manuals mainly, she was not interested in those. It had been almost two days without word from anyone, not even Red. She wished he would call just to say he was okay. She decided she might as well get some sleep and hope she heard something in the morning. She changed into a tank top and a pair of shorts and crawled into bed.

Liz awoke to the sound of the office phone ringing, she jumped out of bed and ran for the phone, hoping it was Red. “Hello?” Not Red, Nate letting her know they were back in Portland and would see her in the morning and he wanted to make sure she was okay. “Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks for letting me know.” She hung up the phone and settled in for what she was sure would be a restless rest of the night.

Liz was showered and dressed by seven am. Nate and his team wouldn’t be here for at least another hour, she longed for a bathtub and a nice long soak. She was flipping through shows on netflix not really seeing anything she liked when the phone rang. 

She answered the phone in a bored tone. “Hello?”

A little static on the line before she heard his voice. “Lizzie! How is everything? Staying out of trouble?”

“Red? Red!” she tried to hide the excitement in her voice, but didn’t do very well “I’m good, and I have been the model citizen but I am going stir crazy. Are you coming back soon?”

Red hoped she had missed him a little bit, but wasn’t sure if the excitement in her voice was for him or just that she had been cooped up alone for too long. He chuckled into the phone, “I should be back early tomorrow morning, around four am. Think you can stay out of trouble a little while longer?”

She laughed. “I’m not sure, what do I get for being such a good girl?”

Red stifled a groan, if she only knew the thoughts that flew through his mind at her statement. He really shouldn’t go there, but he just couldn’t help it. His voice dropped into the lower register. “Well, bad girls get spankings Lizzie, what do you think good girls should get?”

She froze, was he drunk? This was a little farther than he had taken any of their banter before. She really wanted to believe he was flirting with her, so she decided to stick her toes in the water.

“Good girls get good spankings. Do you want to spank me Red?” Oh boy, she really hoped that wasn’t too far.

Red had expected her to either chastise him for being too flirty or ignore it all together. He knew what he wanted, but it was still too early for Lizzie, he was sure. It had barely been a week since she spent the night with Tom on the boat. He was not going to be a rebound boyfriend, he wanted so much more with Lizzie.

She looked at the digital readout on the phone base, it was still clocking the call minutes, meaning he hadn’t hung up. So why wasn’t he saying anything? He was probably thinking of a way to let her down easy, how embarrassing. She laughed lightly. “Relax Red, I was joking, you still there?”

“Yes, of course Lizzie, sorry for the delay”. He knew she was covering and hoped this didn’t ruin everything, that they could slowly work their way to a solid lasting romantic relationship, but now was not the time. So he reverted back to the Red she knew. “I bought you the most beautiful Emilio Pucci scarf, you are going to love it! I’ll see you soon.” He disconnected the call to stave off any more awkwardness.

Liz looked at the phone after the call disconnected. Hopefully she didn’t just screw up whatever chance they had. There was still Tom to think about, but now that she had left with Red and she realized what he had done for her, she knew Tom was the one lying, not Red. Her face heated with shame at the memory of that last night in DC. She needed to find a way to put Tom well and truly in her past. Then and only then could she and Red have anything substantial.


	5. Chapter 5

Nate and the team got to the office about an hour after Liz’s call with Red. They were gathered around Hardison as he was trying to break into an FBI site for information on Gwilym. 

They had learned from Agent McSweeten that there were rumors of a secret task force commissioned because Raymond Reddington had turned himself in. Of course it was only a rumor. But on the off-chance it did exist, they could have some information needed, if it was true of course.

Sophie decided she had enough watching Hardison play with his computer and announced. “I’m going shopping if anyone needs me.”

Parker gasped. “Why are you spending your beautiful money? I could steal whatever you wanted.”

Sophie heaved a long suffering sigh. “There is really something wrong with you Parker, half the fun in shopping is going to the counter and paying for it. It gives me a rush to know I have the money to buy whatever I want.” As she left she added, “The look of envy on the other customers and cashiers faces doesn’t hurt either.” 

Liz was looking over Hardison’s shoulder when she noticed something in the code he was working with. “I have seen those series of numbers before.” She pointed them out to Hardison.

“Oh yeah, that’s like a digital signature. Whoever wrote this code, and they are very good I might add, they signed it.” The look on her face stopped him from resuming his work. “What’s wrong?”

“I know who’s signature that is.” She hoped telling them this information wasn’t going to bite her in the ass. “That is Agent Aram Mojtabai, he is a member of the task force I was on.”

Nate came over and took her by the arm to turn her towards him. “You were part of a secret task force? We need more information on this guy and it looks like they can provide it.” 

Liz was confused, she would have thought Red told Nate the details. “Yeah, Red didn’t tell you?”

Hardison shook his head. “Nope, as soon as Ray’s man told us you were coming, we looked you up. You are a simple profiler working for the DC office, nothing about a secret task force”

Nate was formulating a plan. They could use this to their advantage. “Is there a way you can get in touch with Aram so he can let us in the backdoor?”

Liz was shaking her head before he even finished his sentence. “No, there’s no way Aram is going to let Hardison into his systems. I’m a rogue FBI agent on the run with number 4 on the most wanted list, even if he wanted to I won’t let him risk his job.”

“Okay, is there a way you can get clearance for Hardison and Parker to get in as FBI agents? They already have solid covers in place.” This would be even better if Hardison could get in there.

Liz thought for a moment. “I’m not sure, my old partner is now the head or at least temporary head of the task force, but he’s a pretty straight arrow and was distrustful of me anyway since Red would only talk to me.”

She paced around and pressed her fingertip to her lips as she tried to think of a way to help. “Okay, I think I know a way. My former boss might still have a little pull. I can call him and see if he will try to convince Agent Ressler, that way this doesn’t come back to me.”

Nate pulled his phone out of his pocket and handed it to her. “Good plan, you make the call, Hardison, you get us tickets to DC leaving as soon as possible. Let’s go steal us a blacksite.”

The call with Cooper went better than expected. He was as eager to be helpful as she was. He called back within 30 min and let her know that Ressler would be expecting Agents Hagen and Thomas tonight.

After she hung up with Cooper and let Nate know everything was set, she pulled Parker into her makeshift bedroom to ask a very special favor. “Parker, I was hoping you could do something for me while you are at the blacksite.”

Parker’s eyes lit up. “Yes!”

“Wait, what? I didn’t ask anything yet.” Parker’s profile mentions she may be insane, Liz hope’s she’s just a little quirky.

Parker took a run at the futon and flopped on top of the blankets. “You want me to steal something. I’m the best, I can get anything you want.”

Liz just hoped what she wanted was still there somewhere. “There was a bottle of expensive red wine in my desk drawer, an ‘82 Brunello.”

“One of Italy's best-known and most expensive wines, luscious black and red fruits with chewy tannins.” Liz jumped, she hadn’t heard Elliot walk up behind her. “How’d you get a bottle of that?”

Liz blushed remembering now how ungrateful of that gift she had been. No, not really the gift, more like the gift-giver. “It was a birthday present from Red, along with a bottle of wine I made with my father Sam from grapes we harvested when I was little.”

Parker was suddenly standing in front of Liz. “You want me to steal that one too?”

“No, unfortunately that one is already gone.” Though now that she thought about it she didn’t regret sharing it with Ressler, he was at the time becoming like a brother to her, they were growing closer then.

She shook the thoughts of Ressler from her head. “It used to be in my desk drawer, although when everything went down, they thoroughly searched my office for anything incriminating.” 

She really hoped it was still there somewhere, she would save it to share with Red at a future date when they were at a better point in their relationship, if that never happened she would keep it as a reminder of him. 

She shrugged her shoulders. “Honestly it could be anywhere. You should start in the office, but it could be in evidence, which could be tricky to get into.”

“Pffft” Parker waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. “Don’t worry your pretty little head about that, just give me a layout of the place, as close as you can, and if that bottle is there I’ll bring it to you.” She gave Liz a quick hug. “This is going to be so much fun!”

 

********************************************************************************************************

When Parker and Hardison arrived at the blacksite there was only a skeleton crew still there, being that it was nearing seven pm. That would make things much easier for them. They parked the rented van, leaving Nate and Elliot in the back to monitor the situation and provide feedback. 

They showed their I.D.’s to the guard and entered the elevator, as the door came down Parker excitedly waved towards the van, but stopped when the guard turned towards her, acting as if he was the one doing something strange. 

As soon as the elevator doors shut, Hardison turned to Parker. “Babe, you gotta keep on task. I know it’s gonna be tough, but we are literally walking into a secure FBI facility. If they catch us we may never come out again.”

Parker tilted her head smiled softly at him. “It’s going to be fine. We got this”

The elevator doors opened and they stepped out to be greeted by a ginger haired agent. “Welcome.” He extends his hand. “I’m Agent Donald Ressler, you must be Agents Hagen and Thomas.”

Hardison points to himself. “Thomas.” He then points to Parker. “Hagen.”

Ressler motions for them to follow him. He then introduced them to the other two agents in the room. “These are Agents Samar Navabi and Aram Mojtabai.” He gestured to each one. 

Samar nodded her head toward them in greeting, but stayed silent.

Aram reached out his hand for a handshake, then took it back, only to extend it again a second later. “Uh, hi. Nice to meet you.” He quickly got down to business. “I’ve collected as much data as I can on Gwilym MacAuley for you, though I’m not sure it will be anything new. He is a bit like Mr. Reddington, a um luddite… ” He laughed awkwardly as his sentence trailed off.

Hardison walked around to Aram’s side of the table and gestured to his computer, “You mind if I take a look?” 

“Uh, I guess, I mean sure.” He smiled and huffed another awkward laugh as he vacated his seat and motioned for Hardison to sit.

As Hardison sat he gave Parker a look and motioned to the left with his head, hoping she would get the hint that he needed a distraction. He had to repeat it two more times every time the other agents looked away before Parker got the hint. 

Parker Exclaimed loudly. “Wow, this place is HUGE!” Everyone turned towards her as she indicated the structure with a wide sweep of her arm.

Hardison needed only a second to place the small device in the side port so he could download the data to the van. 

He heard Nate in his ear.”Find out if there are hard copy files anywhere.”

Hardison glanced up from the computer. “Is there an old file room, that maybe has some older information on this guy that might not have been transferred to digital files?”

Ressler answered. “Yeah I bet there is, we brought in a whole bunch of data when Reddington turned himself in, among the files were a whole lot of information on his suspected associates.” 

Ressler nodded toward Samar. “Agent Navabi can escort Agent Hagen while you continue to work with Aram. I’ll be in my office if you need me.” He headed up the stairs to the A.D.’s office.

While Aram was busy looking longingly after Agent Navabi, Hardison was able to remove the small device since it had finished downloading. Hardison smiled innocently at Aram when he turned back around.

Samar walked with Parker back to the file room. “You look… very familiar.” She studied Parker with narrowed eyes.

Parker made a dismissive noise. “I get that a lot. Some people say I look like Beth Riesgraf.”

Samar smiled like a cat ready to jump on it’s prey. “I think you look like Parker, the master thief.”

Parker looked delighted. “You really think so? I hear she is really pretty, and smart to. I mean to steal all that stuff and never be caught, wow.”

The reached the file room just as Samar’s phone rang, she answered still studying Parker. “Navabi. hold on a second.” She showed Parker the files she was looking for. “I need to take this, I won’t be far” She walked back down the corridor a little and resumed her call.

“Reddington, You need something?”

Red hummed into the phone. “I need a lot of thing Agent Navabi, but you seem disinclined to provide most of them, so I am left with asking for your help.”

She chose to ignore his banter. “Agent Ressler is extremely upset with you right now, I’m not sure how much I can help.”

Red laughed. “And just what has Donald’s pants in a knot this time?”

“He believes you are deliberately trying to deceive him, you tell him to look for Liz with her ex-husband, then stage a raid on one of Gwilym MacAuley’s warehouses to distract him. She looked up to check on Parker, who was not where she left her. “Dammit!”

“What is it?” He was on edge, hoping she wasn’t about to tell him they figured out where Lizzie was.

Samar answered irritably. “Nothing, just the Agent I was escorting to the files on Gwilym MacAuley has disappeared.” She started looking down each aisle in the files room.

He did not like playing second fiddle to an agent she was babysitting. “Should I let you go, since you seem to have more pressing business with your wayward agent.”

She stopped and leaned back against the wall with a sigh. “Stop pouting, it doesn’t become you.”

He sounded offended. “I do not pout.”

“Of course not.” She rolled her eyes. “Normally I wouldn’t worry too much about an agent wandering around, but I swear this one looks exactly like the master thief, Parker.”

Red almost choked on the sip of scotch he had just taken and coughed out “Oh dear.” He caught his breath before continuing. “It probably is her, and I have a feeling there is a tall, dark skinned man with her, am I right?”

Samar groaned. “You sent a master thief into a secure blacksite, what could be so important?”

“I didn’t send them.” He had a feeling he knew who did, Lizzie had a lot of explaining to do.

Samar was instantly on alert. “Tell me what you need quickly, I need to inform Agent Ressler.”

Alarmed, Red was quick to stop her. “No, don’t. I didn’t send her but I know who did, she is likely getting the information that I was going to ask you for. Just make sure she gets it and gets out quickly.”

Samar relaxed. “Okay, I just need to find her first.” She ended the call and turned around to start her search and almost jumped out of her skin because Parker was standing right next to her. She had no idea for even how long.

Parker smirked. “I got the files I needed, so I guess we’re done here.” She neglected to tell her she also had Liz’s bottle of wine stuffed into her shoulder bag. She found it in the evidence room, the guard didn’t even know she was there.

********************************************************************************************************

Once Parker and Hardison were back in the van and on their way, Nate called Liz. “We got what we needed without any problems. We will spend the night and be back at the office about ten am.”

Liz breathed a sigh of relief, she had been on pins and needles wondering what was happening. “Thank you for letting me know, I probably would not have slept very well otherwise.”

“No problem, if Ray gets there before we do, let him know we have more information on Gwilym and can plan our next move.” He ended the call.

Liz hung the phone back up feeling dread pull her down like a lead weight. She had a feeling Red would be none too pleased that she’d facilitated their having been there, but she hadn’t been thinking about Red at the time. She had just wanted to be helpful. Oh well, the time to face the music would come all too soon.

Liz dressed for bed hoping to get some sleep before Red got back. She was really looking forward to seeing him again, she had missed him. Hopefully she wouldn’t feel awkward from their last conversation.


	6. Chapter 6

Red diverted his plane to an airstrip outside of Portland. Dembe jumped up and began to make his way off the plane. “I will be back as soon as I can.” 

The bodyguard returned 20 minutes later with a very scared looking man, roughly Red’s height and weight. He hauled him over to stand facing the jet.

A few minutes later Red descended the steps of the plane. He made sure his smile was huge and his manner affable. “Thank you for coming on such short notice.” 

The man glanced from Red with his easy smile and pleasant attitude to the dark-skinned man who had abducted him standing off to the right looking stern and forbidding, and back again, confusion and fright plainly written on his face. 

He swallowed audibly. “Wha-what do you want from me, I haven’t done anything, I swear!”

Red stood in front of him still smiling and after a moment reached over to place a hand on his shoulder. The man jumped like he had been shocked by a cattle prod, which made Red bark out a short laugh. “Calm down, we wish you no harm, I just need a little favor from you.”

The man was shaking his head, hoping against hope he left this place alive. “Listen, I’m not a criminal, just an average guy trying to go about my business. I don’t want any trouble and I won’t do anything illegal, I’ve never even had a parking ticket!” his voice had risen with each word he spoke, anxiety lacing every syllable. 

Red made a dismissive gesture with his hands. “Oh, no! Of course not.” Acting like his friend hadn’t just abducted him off the streets. “Whatever would give you that idea?” Laughter and wonder evident in his voice.

He waved his arm behind him to bring the man’s attention to the suit and hat the stewardess was holding up behind him. “I just need you to dress in these clothes, and take a small flight in my jet.” 

The man looked very skeptical. “That’s it? Are there drugs or a body or something in the cargo?”

Red looked at the man as if he had lost his mind. “Goodness no!” Then with a look of grave concern on his face leaned into the man’s space. “You really should edit what kind of T.V. shows you watch, your imagination is running away from you.” He shook his head and leaned back.

The man eyed Red warily. “Why do you need me to fly somewhere?”

Red just gave him an unreadable look. “Can you do this for me? I really am in a hurry and need your answer sooner, rather than later.” He gave the man a small smile in encouragement.

The man looked again at the very expensive looking suit and the luxury jet, wondering what on God’s green earth he had done that this was his fate in the wee hours of the morning. He really couldn’t see a way to refuse, he wasn’t sure that if he said no, he would leave alive. Best to take the flight and at least have a chance of making it home. “Okay, I’ll go on this flight.”

Red looked inordinately pleased. “Fantastic!” He clapped his hands together and started to walk to his car.

“Wait!” The man suddenly realized once he got off the plane he would be stuck wherever it left him. “How will I get home?”

Red regarded the man for a minute, wondering why he hadn’t asked for any kind of payment.  
“Oh, I almost forgot, your payment!” He lightly smacked his forehead with his palm. “Once you land there will be a car waiting for you much like this one, it’s yours.”

The man looked taken aback by that, the car alone was worth quite a bit of money, it was the present years model. “How will I get the title to the car?”

Red indicated Dembe. “My friend here is going to take a picture of your driver’s license, once you make it to the destination, we will send the title to the car.” 

The man strode over to take the clothes from the stewardess and go change. He felt as if he was being robbed in reverse. No one was going to believe him, he might as well tell everyone he had been abducted by aliens.  
********************************************************************************************************

Red finally made it back to the brewery around six am. He went immediately to Lizzie’s room, she was still sleeping. He had missed her, she was a balm for his tired soul. He wanted nothing more than to lie down and hold her in his arms, but instead decided he could at least lie next to her on top of the covers.

He discarded his jacket, vest and tie along with his belt and shoes, and crawled onto the bed next to her laying on his back to wait for her to wake up. He didn’t have long to wait.

Liz felt a presence in the bed with her, she quickly turned and grabbed at the threat. She was shocked to see Red, and then she glanced down at her hands that were grasping at spot very low on his belly. She snatched her hands back quickly as she sputtered. “Wha-what are you doing? Better yet how long have you been here? You scared the hell out of me.”

Red regarded her for a moment. She was beautiful first thing in the morning, no makeup, her face still held the blush of sleep, and her hair was in glorious disarray on the pillows. “Oh, not long, only a few minutes actually.”

That made Liz feel a bit better knowing her instincts had woken her up instead of sleeping on completely unaware. “What time is it, it looks later than four, I guess you left later than expected.” 

She didn’t want to say it, but it was like a tsunami breaking against her teeth and she couldn't stop her next words. “Having too much fun with Maddie?” The disdain she held for the woman, apparent in how she said the name. 

Red pursed his lips, a look of distaste crossing his features. “I already told you it wasn’t a social call Lizzie, and I won’t talk about it again.”

She was still feeling the sting of jealousy, but who was she to take him to task for seeing other women, he wasn’t her boyfriend and they had made no commitment to one another. So she apologized to hopefully diffuse what was now hanging between them. “I’m sorry.” She said simply.

He nodded to acknowledge her apology, considered her a moment more before saying. “I did say I would be here around four am, but then I was required to land outside of Portland, give one of my favorite suits and a fedora to a stranger so he could then fly to Portland and lure dear Donald’s tail away, allowing me to get here without compromising you.”

She really felt embarrassed for her earlier jealousy now. She tried to will away the blush that flushed her cheeks. She took a few deep breaths to get herself under control before she could talk to him again without it returning. She had already apologized and he said he didn’t want to talk about it again, so she didn’t bother bringing it up with another useless apology. 

Liz sat up on her elbow to look at him. “How did Ressler know to look for you in Portland?”

Red licked his lips and tried to keep his eyes on her face with difficulty. When she had propped herself up and leaned towards him, her loose shirt was providing him a wonderful view of her breasts. He rolled his tongue before he could stop himself.

He took a casual look around the room to gain control before he returned his gaze to her. “Had my tail number flagged more than likely.” He gave her a smug smile. “You FBI need to get better at hiding in plain sight, my men noticed them immediately, they make it too easy to avoid capture.”

Liz was getting annoyed with him. He frustrated her to no end, one minute she wanted to grab him and kiss him senseless, the next she wanted to kick him. “Why do you say ‘you’ FBI, when you know damn well I am no longer with them?”

Red bit the inside of his cheek and then changed the subject. “Good, it seems you are awake now. We have something that needs to be discussed, namely Parker and Hardison in the blacksite.”

At her wary look, he warmed to his topic. “What were you thinking leading them there? They may be criminals, but they are not the bad guys. If they got caught… if they had to go through what…” He took a deep breath and ran a hand over his face, “lets just say they aren’t used to advanced interrogation.” 

Liz rolled her eyes. “Hardison is a hacker and Parker a thief, that hardly calls for the use of advanced interrogation.”

“Lizzie, they infiltrated a known blacksite, that alone would call for it, but then they also stole classified documents relating to national security. What did you think would happen?” He barked an incredulous laugh. “A stern lecture and a slap on the wrist?”

She flopped onto her back and sighed loudly. “I guess I wasn’t thinking, I just wanted to help.”

He turned and propped himself on his elbow to smoothed the hair from her face to smile down at her. “Next time, please talk things over with me before you jump in.”

She turned to face him. “What would you have done, it’s not like you could just waltz in there and get it yourself.”

“I called Agent Navabi.” He saw her stiffen, he secretly loved it when she showed her jealous side. He had never enjoyed a jealous woman until Lizzie, but he would not let her know that, it was one thing to enjoy it, quite another to invite it. “But it seems you had already sent in the dynamic duo.”

Liz studied him for a moment, he looked a little pleased about something, but she had no idea what. She got off the bed. “I’m going to take a shower and get dressed, why don’t you go get us some coffee. Nate said they would be back around ten am and we can plan our next move then.” 

She glanced back at him and saw his raised brow. “Yes, I said we,” She gestured between the two of them, “You are not leaving me out this time.”

“My, aren’t we bossy in the mornings.” At her death glare he chuckled. “Yes dear, coffee and plans.”

********************************************************************************************************

The team arrived just after ten am. Parker stepped next to Liz and said quietly. “I found your wine, I’ll put it in your bag.” 

Liz was ecstatic, she had to will herself not to jump up and down. “I can’t even tell you how thankful I am. I thought it was gone.”

Parker just smiled smugly and went to put it away.

Red strode over to envelope Nate in a bear hug and whisper in his ear. “Thank you for keeping her safe. How you kept her here without restraints, I’ll never know.”

Nate stepped out of the hug with a laugh to see that Red was staring transfixed to a spot just over his shoulder, so he turned to see what it was. What he saw was Sophie, she looked amazing. When she shopped, she really went all out.

Sophie enjoyed the appreciative looks on both men’s faces as they followed her movements. “It’s not nice to stare boys, but what a confidence builder.” She walked over and pressed a kiss to Nate’s cheek. “So, what’s on the schedule for today?”

Red laughed and slapped Nate on the back. “You are a lucky man.”

Nate just grinned like a fool as he sat next to Sophie at the bar.

Elliot walked in and exclaimed. “Wow, Sophie! Let me just say you look great all the time, but you have really outdone yourself.”

Sophie preened. “Why thank you Elliot.” She gave him a light touch on his shoulder.

Nate leaned in to whisper to her. “Are you still using that mind control on him?”

Sophie gave a delicate shrug of her shoulders. “I have no idea what you are referring to.”

Nate laughed and motioned to the screen. “Let’s get started.”

Hardison brought up some photos of a few luxury villas and some warehouses in various locations. “Here’s what we found, thanks to our new friends on a certain secret task force.” He said the latter as he looked to Liz with a knowing smile.

Feeling a little embarrassed after this morning’s lecture, she darted a glance at Red who just tilted his head and gave her one of his bombastic looks. 

Hardison, unaware of the byplay between the two, continued, “We are pretty sure he hasn’t left the country. Since we had the FBI raid that warehouse of his, his passports have been flagged.”

Liz knew Red would never let that stop him. “What about his aliases?” 

Red stepped next to her. “This is one more area Gwilym and I differ greatly. He is much too vain and overconfident to want to be anyone else.” Red bumped Lizzie’s shoulder in a teasing manner, when she rolled her eyes. “He also knows that the FBI can’t tie him directly to that warehouse, since it’s not in his name, and they have no idea he was holding Sophie.”

Nate added. “He will definitely want to lay low for a while though until the FBI stops watching him so closely. But that won’t stop him from trying to figure out what Red’s hand in all of this was, he knows something is up”

Sophie shivered at the memory of her time with the brute. “Gwilym told me he knows about Liz.” At Liz’s worried expression she added. “I don’t think he knew who you were at that time, as he accused me of being Ray’s girlfriend, though I’m sure he is working to sort that out now.”

Liz was a little taken aback by that statement. “Why would he think I’m Red’s girlfriend?”

Red suddenly found the photos on the screen interesting, while everyone one else just gave her a surprised look. 

She decided to let the matter drop, she had too much on her mind already without worrying about their relationship and how everyone else saw it.

Elliot took pity on her and kept business moving along. “We know you and Ray need to get out of the country, so we need a plan to draw this guy out to distract the FBI.”

Red agreed. “Yes, and for them to distract him as well, lest he lead the FBI straight to us.” He turned to Nate. “Speaking of distractions, has my trip to Florence had the desired effect?”

Nate smiled widely. “Sterling took the bait. Flew off to Florence as soon as he received the intel.”

“Good. One down, one to go.” He looked at Parker and then back at Liz and regarded them appraisingly. “It could work.”

Liz and Parker looked at each other and then back at Red and then asked in unison. “What could work?”

Red chuckled, seemingly pleased with himself. “How do you feel about dress up Parker?”

Nate had caught on to Red’s plan. “We need a decoy to draw Gwilym out.”

“If Parker has to dress as Liz, then we need to give Liz a new look.” Sophie took a dazed Liz by the elbow and started leading her out of the room. 

Liz glanced back at Red, though she wasn’t sure what help she would find there. He has bemoaned her wardrobe choices from the beginning.

“Splendid! I would not be able to dress you better myself.” Red pulled out his wallet and handed Lizzie a black card. He addressed Sophie then. “Make sure she gets a full wardrobe for varying seasons, and all the accessories. Dembe will drive you, he should be out waiting by the car.”

Liz realized he was probably going to insist on taking her shopping before their flight since he had left Dembe by the car. She supposed it was probably better that Sophie had taken charge, she couldn’t imagine shopping for underthings with Red, well she could, but it was better not to go there.

Parker looked absolutely appalled at the idea of going shopping with Sophie. Parker’s idea of shopping was going to a museum to pick a painting or artifact to steal. “I don’t have to go do I?”

“No Parker, I’ll grab a dark wig while we are out and you can wear the some of the clothes Liz already has.”

That made Parker happy, she jumped up and swung her arms wide and turned a few times.

Elliot did his best to dodge Parker’s swinging arms. “I’ll go with them, I haven’t seen Dembe in a while.” He followed the ladies out to the car.

********************************************************************************************************

Their first stop was a high end hair salon where the owner owed Sophie a favor. They sat Liz in the chair and started discussing styles. “Oh, Liz!” Sophie exclaimed, “you would look stunning in a short pixie cut.” She looked over some color charts. “I think blonde would compliment your skin color quite nicely.” She looked questioningly at Liz.

“You know what, lets just go for it, it’s only hair right?” She can always wear a hat if things don’t turn out well. Now was the time for change. After everything that has happened over the last couple of years, she needs this. Her new beginning was going to start now. 

A few hours later they emerge and Liz feels lighter than she has in years. Suddenly looking forward to spending Red’s money on new clothes.

Dembe opened the door for her with a huge smile. “You look good Elizabeth, Raymond will be pleased.”

“He’d better, ‘cause I can’t reattach it.” She was so happy she wanted to dance. 

The remainder of the day was spent at the tailors and various other high end retailers. Sophie agreed with Red, she was a winter. Her wardrobe consisted of mainly jeweled tones, but every girl needed some black in her wardrobe and don’t forget the little black dress, and this one was very little. She hoped one day to have the nerve to wear it for Red.

She was exhausted, having never taken an entire day to shop for clothes before, but it was fun, it was actually fun. Sophie had been great, giving her advice, not just on clothes but grifting too, Liz listened raptly as she told story after story of her adventures. If Sophie wasn’t a criminal, she would make an excellent personal shopper. 

********************************************************************************************************

When she and Dembe finally pulled up to the brewery, she was suddenly excited to see Red and show him her new look. She could already imagine all the flowery compliments he would give her.

When Red heard Lizzie and Dembe, he turned to greet them only to falter in his step. His Lizzie had cut her hair, well he had suspected she would, she needed a drastic change in order to be on the run. He secretly wished for her to have kept the length. He had so many fantasies of grabbing fistfuls of it while he kissed her with a passion so purple it was nearly a different color, or while she was doing wickedly delicious things to him.

Lizzie saw his expression go from utter shock, to disappointment, to a carefully benign smile in the blink of an eye, if she hadn’t been watching him, she would have missed the almost comical changes quickly taking place on his face.

She was almost afraid to ask what he thought. “You hate it, don’t you?” She hadn’t meant to blurt that out, but after seeing his face, she just wanted to run away and cry.

His face changed again, this time a surprised concern lit his features. “No Lizzie, not at all.” He moved and tentatively reached his hand up to stroke her newly cropped hair. “I admit, it is a drastic change and I have always loved your dark hair, but you look beautiful, stunning actually.” He smiled a more genuine smile now.

She nodded, deciding to accept his explanation, but there was still a slight air of disappointment about him. He probably just needed time to adjust to the change. “Thank you.” The word of acknowledgement coming out breathy.

They stared at each other for long moments before they heard Dembe coming back in loaded down with some of her purchases, breaking the spell. “Oh, here is your card.” She took it from her back pocket and noticed it was creased, she looked up at him with a slightly sheepish expression. “It’s a little worse for the wear.”

He took it from her, he would not be ordering a new card. Everytime he used this one now, he would think of her. “Think nothing of it Lizzie.” He returned it to his wallet and then touched her shoulder, needing some kind of contact with her. 

She took a deep breath to calm her nerves and regretted it instantly as his scent filled her nostrils, her entire being. She felt her knees go weak and she would have fallen had Red not caught her, his face lighting in deep concern. “Lizzie… “

Jumping over whatever he was about to say, she gave an exaggerated yawn. “I guess that day of shopping is catching up to me, I’m exhausted.” She laughed weakly, hoping he would accept her explanation, not wanting to have to tell him the reason for her almost-fall.

His gaze was penetrating, but after a moment he ushered her to her room with a hand on her back. “Of course Lizzie, get some rest.” He stopped at the doorway and let her move into the room.

“We have some things to discuss in the morning, but it can wait.” He watched her for a moment more before turning and walking away.

Sleep, yes, sleep was what she needed to get herself under control. They were on the run and would be spending a large chunk of time together. She knew her weakness, now she just needed to figure a way not to inhale around him. That thought made her giggle, she really was tired. Changing quickly, she got into bed and fell asleep quickly.


	7. Chapter 7

Liz woke early the next morning feeling refreshed and relaxed until the world slowly crept back in. Red said they had some things to discuss. She hoped dearly that he wasn’t going to leave her again. She would be strong in the face of it, but it would probably break her when she was alone. She laid there a few moments longer before finally heading to the bathroom to ready herself for the day.

When she emerged from her room, she saw Red leaning against the bar reading a file, and Dembe sitting quietly beside him a cup of coffee in his hands. The others were absent, she wondered briefly where they were. 

She moved to stand beside Red, greeting them both. “Good morning gentlemen.” She smiled at them both. 

“Good morning. I thought you would sleep a bit longer considering how exhausted you were last night.” Red continued to watch her as she turned her attention to acknowledge the bodyguard’s greeting.

“Good morning Elizabeth, did you sleep well?” 

“Yes, thank you, I don’t think I even moved the entire night.” She glanced at Red from the corner of her eye to see if he was still watching her, he was. It was a little disconcerting.

Red flicked his gaze to his friend for a second before returning it back to her. Dembe quietly got up and left the room. She was starting to get nervous as she swung her gaze back to him, her hands starting to fidget against her thighs.

“What’s wrong?” She tried to hide the anxiety she was feeling but failed miserably. 

He was going to leave her, that had to be it. Why else would he want to have this conversation in private. He probably thought she was going to break down and beg and plead with him to stay. Well she wasn’t going to break down, not in front of him anyway.

He reached for her, his hand encircling her wrist, his thumb lightly stroking her scar, sensing her stress. “Nothing is wrong Lizzie, there are just two things I need to ask you to do, and I am not sure how you will react to them.” He held her gaze until he could feel her relax before releasing her.

She couldn’t decide if she should be angry at him or not. On the one hand it was sweet that he was concerned for her feelings. On the other hand she wasn’t a child to be coddled, she was a big girl who could take care of herself. No matter how comforting his embrace and care was, she was strong and could handle a lot, just look at the tatters of her life. She wasn’t a defeated mess, she was alive and thriving even in these dire circumstances.

“Just spit it out please, you don’t have to tread on eggshells. I can handle it.” She purposefully drained herself of nervous energy, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath before looking back at him. 

Red nodded lightly several times, his gaze still penetrating. He took a deep breath before saying slowly, his voice low and impossibly tight as though the words pained him, “I need you to call Tom.” 

The color drained from her face. This was it, he was leaving her. But she never thought for a second or even in a million years that he would send her to Tom. She wanted nothing to do with Tom, she wanted to drown him in the past, forget that night on the boat. Oh, how naive she had been. 

She didn’t think she could speak very many words, her throat seemed to have closed, she was having trouble even swallowing and all she could do was croak out one word. “Why?”

He worked his mouth for a moment. He didn’t expect her reaction to be like that. Her face pale, the barely audible ‘why’.

Did she think he didn’t know about that last night in DC, afraid now what he might think of her choice to go willingly back to him now… again? Was she upset because she thought he was trying to push her away and leave her without any answers? Or because she thought he would leave her, for no other reason than because she wanted him, screw the answers. He would not let himself hope for the latter.

“What are you thinking Lizzie?” He wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer, but he needed it, like he needed air. The not knowing was slowly killing him. Once he knew the answer he could act accordingly. 

There were tears in her eyes, but she couldn’t help that, she was about to lay herself bare to him. Her voice was small, almost timid. “Sometimes I'm disappointed in myself… because I know I’m better than the choices I make.” 

His gaze was intense, but she held it, wanting to see all the expressions that graced his face.

She shook her head trying to shake off some of the emotion she felt crawling through her. “I have never regretted anything more than I do having spent that night with him.” She had to clear her throat now, fighting the emotions. 

“He was familiar, even though it was all a lie. I foolishly thought we could put the past behind us and maybe build something new”. She huffed a laugh, thinking of how completely ignorant he must think her.

“I just wanted to feel loved again. Not just the act but, you know, that security of having someone who cares for you.” She was fighting a losing battle with her tears.

“Then Tom Connolly happened, he threatened the team and then he threatened you with the death penalty. I shot him and as I pulled the trigger, I remembered shooting my father.” She let the tears fall now, not caring how weak they made her seem. 

She finished in a whisper. “I realized then who was the liar, and who had been manipulating me.” 

She couldn’t believe he’d stayed silent for this long. His face was awash in emotion, but she couldn’t decipher it with any clarity.

Of all the things he thought she might say, he never thought she would be so gut wrenchingly open with him. She just did the equivalent of kneeling at his feet and surrendering to him. Things had certainly come full circle. 

He wasn’t sure he could trust his voice, but she was most assuredly awaiting a response. His voice was gravely and full when he finally spoke. “Lizzie… “ His brows furrowed and he shook his head slightly with the effort to stop his own tears. “You have given me an incredible gift.” 

At her questioning look, he clarified. “A piece of yourself.” He was bursting with his love for her, but even after her admission, he could not voice it, still unsure of the depths of her feelings for him. 

“Thank you, it means the world to me that you felt safe enough to share all that with me.” Running a hand over his head and the back of his neck, he tried to calm his emotions.

He picked the burner phone off of the bar and turned it in his hands. He looked back at her and shook his head as he said, still so full of emotion. “I am not trying to send you back to him, but we do need him to do something for us and I thought he may be more amenable to your request then mine.”

She wondered what Tom could possibly do for them, Red had connections everywhere, why Tom? “What do we need him to do?”

“Pick up Parker, who will be disguised as you, then take her sailing for a week or so, showing up in different ports, letting people see her with him.” 

She looked like she was about to protest sending Parker anywhere alone with Tom. He was quick to interject. “Don’t worry, Elliot will be there too, staying out of sight, but he will be there to protect her.”

He took her hand and placed the phone in her palm. “Would you like some privacy to make the call”?

She shook her head and took a deep breath. “No, please stay, I may need your strength.”

He reached up to cup her cheek in his palm, loving the way she leaned into his touch. “Of course Lizzie, anything you need.” He dropped his hand and propped himself against the bar once again, waiting for her to make the call.

The number was already programmed into the phone, she hit the button and pressed the phone to her ear, waiting for Tom to pick up. She wished she didn’t have to talk to him but she knew Red was right, he was more likely to help if the request came from her.

She locked gazes with Red as the call connected. “Hello”

“Tom, it’s me. I need to ask for a favor from you.” Her gaze never wavering from Red’s, drawing from his strength.

He sounded irritated. “Is that all I am to you Liz? A means to an end?” His voice changed to a slightly nasty tone. “Your sugar daddy cut you off?”

Her face flamed and Red could only imagine all the things Tom could have said to her that would cause such a reaction.

“Please Tom, if I can’t get out of the country I will go to jail for the rest of my life.” She hoped playing on his sympathy would work. “I can’t believe even you would want that for me.”

She heard him sigh on the other end. “Fine, what do you want?”

“I need you to pick up my decoy and take her sailing for a week or so, making sure you are seen together in various ports to keep the FBI busy while I get away.” She blew out a breath to keep herself calm, thankful for Red’s continued support.

Tom was all business now. “When and where?”

She rattled off the information Red showed her in the file he had been reading earlier and as soon as she finished, Tom disconnected the call.

She handed the phone back to Red. She was felt like a ball of nervous energy. “You said there were two things?” 

She hoped that he gave her the worst of it first, she didn’t know if she could handle so much emotion again in such a short span of time.

Lizzie looked emotionally spent, he was pretty sure he wasn’t much better. He smiled teasingly at her. “You sure you want to hear it?”

She laughed, it helped to relieve the tension. “You must, because if you don’t I will probably burst into a million tiny pieces.”

He was feeling slightly confident about this next one. She could, of course still say no, but the chances were slim. “I think we should pose as a couple while traveling, that way it will be easier to stay together.”

Liz’s eyes widened. “A couple? What kind of couple?” Liz was sure she was going to die, her heart was beating triple time.

“You choose the level of the relationship, whatever is most comfortable for you.” He truthfully hadn’t thought much past making sure they would be in the same hotel room, thinking it would be more convenient in terms of safety.

She thought about it for a minute before asking shyly. “Can we be married?” She was suddenly flustered, that came out so differently than it sounded in her head. “I mean it would, err… “

His loved this adorably awkward side of her. “Yes, Lizzie. I think that is a great idea, less problems that way.”

She let out a breath. “Okay, good, yeah, that’s good.” She smiled shyly at him. “So, what now?”

“Now, I have a few phone calls to make, our last names need to be changed so they match, and a few other paperwork details that will require my attention before we can leave.” 

“Who will we be?” She certainly hoped it wasn’t something over the top, she didn’t want to have to stifle a laugh every time she heard it. 

He knew what she was thinking, that he would give them comical names to amuse himself with. Well he had, but now that they were going to be married, he would get that changed. His team would have to work double time to make the changes, but it would be worth it. 

He thought about it a moment before responding. “Todd and Rebecca Greaves.” He hoped she liked her new name, he would call her Bekki.

She wasn’t expecting that, maybe Fred and Ginger or Fred and Ethel Mertz, but these sounded normal. “I like it, though it will take some time to call you Todd and not Red.”

He had a twinkle in his eyes as he said. “You could always call me stallion and I’ll call you honeysuckle.” 

She laughed, a genuine full bodied laugh. “You are too much, why don’t we stick with Todd and Rebecca for now and worry about pet names later.” 

Stallion indeed. He would have to earn that one.

She left him to make his calls while she went in search of something to eat in the kitchen. The past little while having left her drained, she needed to refuel.


	8. Chapter 8

The next day saw Elliot and Parker waiting for Tom in Miami. Elliot looked at his watch. “He is an hour late.”

“You think he’ll come?” Parker made a fishy face. “Maybe he’s already swimmin’ with the fishes.” She laughed and snorted at her own joke.

Elliot was not amused. “Cut it out Park… err, Liz.” He looked around again, trying to spot Tom hoping that the picture would still match what the man looked like now. “He is probably just trying to assert a little control.”

Parker contemplated that for a moment. “Yeah, I guess it would sting a little, knowing that in helping her, he is also helping the guy that stole his girl.”

Elliot regarded Parker with an expression of wonder, she never ceased to amaze him, ok, mostly annoy. Every once in a while though, she could see straight to the heart of things. “Wow, that was pretty insightful, Parker.”

With a shrug of her shoulders she instantly returned to the Parker he knew all too well. “That lady over there is wearing a vintage Rolex, I would guess circa 1967.” 

Before he could stop her she got up from the table they had been at and ‘accidentally’ bumped into the woman. When Parker sat back down beside him, she was now wearing the watch.

He whispered furiously to her. “Jesus Parker! While we do want you to be seen, we don’t need to attract that kind of attention.” Before he could admonish her anymore, he spotted Tom off in the distance. 

“Let’s go, I see him now. The sooner we start, the sooner this will be over.” He led the way with Parker slash Liz following close behind.

********************************************************************************************************

“Red, you’re going to wear a hole in the floor. Come over and sit by me on the couch.” He had been pacing back and forth for almost an hour waiting for a call from either his people or Agent Navabi. 

He walked over and sat next to Lizzie. “There have to be tips coming in already from Miami, strange that we haven’t heard from either party yet.” 

Red smoothed his palm over his scalp, agitated that things weren’t progressing at a faster pace. They needed the FBI and Gwilym to take the bait and focus their attention on the pretend Lizzie, so he could get the real one out of the country. 

Lizzie reached down and pulled his feet into her lap, causing him to have to reposition himself. She started to unlace his shoes. He was taken a bit by surprise, but let her continue with her endeavor. “Lizzie, what are you doing?”

“You need to relax, I thought a foot massage might help.” She managed to get his shoes off and started massaging his left foot. 

Red barely suppressed a moan, it felt so good. He had been so busy as of late, he hadn’t had a chance to see his masseuse. “Mmmm, thank you Lizzie, I really needed this.” 

She looked up to watch him for a second, he had his head tipped back and his eyes closed. She was enjoying seeing him like this, he never seemed to fully relax in her presence. She thought he would sit up when his phone rang, but he stayed where he was instead.

Without opening his eyes he reached into his pocket, pulled out his phone and lazily answered. “Yeah?”

It was Agent Navabi. “My, don’t you sound relaxed. Did I catch you and Agent Keen post coital?”

He smiled into the phone, eyes still closed enjoying Lizzie’s ministrations. “Why, are you jealous?”

Lizzie pushed his feet off of him and started to get up. He reached for her while he sat up. The beseeching look he gave her and the mouthed ‘please’, had her sitting back down.

He held her hand while he continued the conversation. 

Samar scoffed. “Of course I’m not jealous, about time if you ask me.” Most people in the task for had bets on when they would get together for a while now.

He wasn’t going to have this conversation with her, especially with Lizzie sitting next to him. 

“Well, the thing is, I didn’t ask you.” He quickly forged ahead before she could comment further. “Do you have any news for us?”

“Yes, but not what you were expecting.”

He was instantly more alert. “What’s happening?”

She walked further into the files room to make sure she wasn’t overheard. “Agent Ressler has decided that the local offices can handle looking into any sightings of Agent Keen. He feels our focus should remain on you.” 

Irritated now, he wished he could throttle Donald. “Ok, I’ll call him and see if I can smooth things over.” He added before hanging up. “Make sure you continue to keep me informed.”

“I take it Samar didn’t have good news?” She had just gotten him relaxed and now he seemed more tense than before.

He took a deep breath and gave her a small smile. “No, it seems our dear Donald has decided not to chase after the sightings of you and stick with finding me.”

“Would it be better if I called him?” She wasn’t sure if it was a good idea, but he might be persuaded to back off if she could talk to him and remind him she isn’t the bad guy.

He was already shaking his head. “I don’t think you should Lizzie, I am trying to convince him you aren’t with me.”

“He doesn’t need to know I’m with you.” She leaned closer to him and laid her head on his shoulder while looking up at him.

“I can convince him, I know I can.” He locked gazes with her and she knew the moment he relented when he let out the breath he was holding.

“Do you remember the number?” He handed her the phone and leaned back on the futon. She was leaning forward so he took the opportunity to run his hand soothingly up and down her back.

“Yeah, I had to replace and reprogram my phone several times because of all the crazy action we got into chasing blacklisters.” She looked pointedly at him, clearly implying it was his fault. 

He snapped her bra in retaliation and she yelped. “Hey, what are you thirteen?” Trying her best to act upset.

He laughed enjoying her faux outrage. “Once when I was thirteen, I had a newspaper route. One day I had to collect a late payment from Mrs. Jensen.” He bit his lip and put his hand over his heart. “She was the fantasy of every boy in the neighborhood, she was always in daringly short skirts and low cut, too tight tops.” He rolled his tongue and looked up at the ceiling before looking back at Lizzie. “Anyway, she answered the door in nothing but a… “

She smacked his thigh. Lord, he was so incorrigible. “We don’t have time for this.” He smiled unapologetically back at her. “The phone is ringing, you need to behave.”

When the phone connected there was a moment of silence before she heard his voice. “Ressler”

Suddenly nervous, she wasn’t sure how he was going to react to her call. She took a cleansing breath before speaking. “Hey Res, miss me?”

That greeting sounded familiar. “You need to tell Reddington to bring you in Liz, we can help you.”

She hated having to lie to him, but it had to be done. “I’m not with Reddington, I decided I needed to get away from everything, Tom promised me answers that Reddington refuses to give me.” 

She looked at Red with a pained expression. He smiled reassuringly at her and resumed rubbing her back, each time his hand glided down her back it reached a lower point, almost touching the top of her ass. His expression remained impassive though so she assumed he probably wasn’t even aware.

“Come in Liz, I’ll help you find whatever answers you need, after we clear your name.” 

“I can’t, the answers I need you can’t get for me. But I do need your help.” She leaned back a little, needing a firmer touch than Red was currently providing.

“There is a very bad man chasing after me, Tom thinks it’s Gwilym MacAuley.” She tried to sound as if she was on the verge of tears, hoping to ‘sell the con’ as Sophie called it.

“I know of him, there were some agents here recently looking for information on him, why do you   
think he is after you?”

“I assume by capturing me he thinks it will draw Red out.” Red looked at her and shook his wrist with the watch to indicate she needed to wrap up the call.

“Look, Res. I don’t have much time, you need to get this guy before he gets to me, I have a feeling he doesn’t plan on having live bait.” Come on Res, she thought.

“You are asking me to stop looking for you and Reddington and focus my attention on Gwilym while you get away. I am supposed to be hunting you down, not clearing the way for your escape.”

It was now time to resort to begging, since he still seemed on the fence. “Please, I am begging you, please. You know I’m innocent, keep looking for that and clear my name. You know as well as I do, that if I come in I’m going in a deep dark hole and never coming out. "

There was silence on the other end of the phone for what seemed like an eternity before he replied. “Alright Liz, but this is a one time deal. I’ll get this guy, but when I do I’m going to find you and I’m going to find Reddington.”

She blew out a pent up breath. “I know, Res. Thank you, tell everyone hi for me. I miss you guys.” 

“We miss you too. Stay safe out there.” With that he ended the call.

As soon as the call ended she turned and buried her face in Red’s chest. He held onto her quietly for a few minutes before she pulled away. “What now?”

“We wait. Now that he thinks you are with Tom, he will start following the leads on your whereabouts to look for signs of Gwilym.” He turned and held his feet up to Lizzie in a shameless attempt to get her to massage his feet some more.

She smacked his feet on the floor and turned to lift her feet onto his lap. “Nope it’s my turn.” She grinned cheekily at him.

With mock contriteness and a twinkle in his eyes, he said. “You're right, how ungentleman like of me.” He gave her a short laugh as he began to take off her shoes.

********************************************************************************************************

 

Nate and Sophie were in close conversation in the brewery’s restaurant, so engrossed in one another that Nate had failed to notice a familiar figure making his way to their table.

The newcomer snatched a chair from another table and sat down at the table with Nate and Sophie. “Well, well. S’entendre comme larron en foire.”

Nate startled almost imperceptibly when the newcomer spoke, but was able to play it cool and ignore the jibe. “Sterling, you’re certainly looking worse for the wear.” He smiled at the annoyed look that crossed the other man’s features.

Sophie let him finish his perusal of her from the corner of her eye, she could see Nate getting agitated at Sterling’s blatant leer. She finally turned to acknowledge him before Nate started a brawl. “If you’re looking for a date Sterling, I’m already taken. I believe there is an escort service nearby though if you are having trouble finding a lady.”

Nate silently watched Sterling with an amused expression, hoping he would get to the point of his visit soon. What the hell was he doing here anyway, he was supposed to be on Madeline Pratt’s trail. Thankfully Ray and Liz had decided to order in. 

Sterling gave them an acerbic smile. One day he was going to catch them in the act of something illegal and then it would be he who would have the last laugh. “Ms. Pratt has lead me here, and I would feel like a neglectful friend if I didn’t come by and pay you a visit.”

There was only a few things here in Portland that would entice a thief of that caliber here. Sophie was pretty sure she knew what it was, she had thought of going for it herself, but knew they didn’t need any unwanted attention around right now with Ray and Liz still in the area. 

“What could a woman like Madeline Pratt want to steal here in Portland?” Sophie pasted on her most innocent and interested expression.

If there was something worth stealing here in Portland, Sophie would know about it. He gave her a look that clearly let her know he wasn’t buying into her act. “I want to procure the services of your team.” He reveled in their shocked expressions.

“Come on Sterling, what could possibly tempt us to help you?” Sterling had to be working some kind of angle, Nate was sure of it.

“I know you are up to something, you’ve been quiet as of late, which means you are planning something.” Sterling needed Madeline Pratt as a feather in his cap, but she was proving to be a wily adversary. 

“What, we aren’t allowed to take a break?” Sterling could pose a huge problem if they weren’t able to get rid of him. Nate needed a plan, but Sterling’s next words surprised him.

“I am willing, if you help me that is, to give you one month where I stop any and all surveillance of you and your team.” He picked up Sophie’s glass and took at sip, loving Nate’s thunderous glare. 

Sophie placed her hand on the table when Sterling went to place her glass back down. “You keep it, I insist.”

“Let me guess. Only for you to renege on your part once you have Madeline in hand?” Nate wasn’t sure what Sterling’s angle was but he was going to find out before he would even begin to think about accepting.

“Oh come on Nate, if you know one thing about me, it’s that I always keep my word.” He tilted Sophie’s, well now his, glass towards Nate in a one sided toast.

“Alright, on one condition.” He covered Sophie’s hand with his own when she started to protest.

“And what might that be?” Nate agreed sooner than he had expected, this condition must be a big one.

“I want to know what your angle is, what do you get out of this, of course besides the capture of a woman like Madeline Pratt.” There had to be more to it than just wanting to capture her, Sterling had quite a lot of resources now that he was with Interpol. 

Sterling knew he wouldn’t be able to get one over on Nate with this, he knew Sterling well enough to know when something wasn’t right, even if he couldn’t put his finger on it. “Fine, wealth and power mainly. Capturing Madeline will bring me a substantial raise in not only salary, but also cause certain people take notice and in return make me some very powerful friends.”

Nate wasn’t sure he wanted to add to Sterling’s rise in power, that could only spell trouble for he and his team. On the other hand, the old adage rang true. ‘The bigger they are the harder they fall.’ What fun would that be to let Sterling have a moment on his pedestal, only to come around and kick it out from under him later.

“Okay Sterling you have a deal.” he extended his hand and Sterling accepted the handshake. 

Deal shook on, and plans made to get together later, Sterling bid them both goodbye and left the brewery. Sophie, who had been quiet for most of that exchange, started to chastise Nate. “What are you thinking? We can’t have Sterling close by with Ray and Liz still here, and as you know, here is literally here, in this very establishment.”

Nate stood and offered his elbow to Sophie and she cautiously rose to take it. “That is why we need to get Ray and Liz out tonight.” 

This was almost too good to be true. Sterling better make good on his promise, but Sterling was right, Nate knew him to be true to his word. “If we can get Sterling out of our hair for a month, we can round up Gwilym, and clean out his bank accounts in peace.”

They made their way back to the offices, hopefully Ray had heard from his people and could be ready to move soon.


	9. Chapter 9

Sophie helped Liz pack while Nate and Red went over what needed to happen while they were away. “You will do fine Liz, just remember what I told you. You have to believe the story before you can get anyone else to believe you.”

“I’m trying, I still can’t believe I said our cover should be as a married couple.” She was excited about the prospect but terrified at the same time. 

Would they have to kiss? Could she hold back her feelings enough to appear happily married to those on the outside without losing herself to Red? What if when this was all over, he wanted to go their separate ways. She didn’t think she could do that if she gave in to her feelings for him, she would need to keep a part of herself back to survive.

Sophie watched her for a moment, she could almost see Liz’s thoughts collide around the room. “You need to stop worrying so much. Just give yourself over for the time you will be with him, use it as an opportunity to see if a life with him after all is said and done is what you really want.”

Liz looked worriedly back and whispered. “But what if he finds he doesn’t want me? “

Sophie walked over and gave her a quick reassuring hug. “You have nothing to worry about there, that man adores you, worships the very ground you walk on. Whatever course the two of you take will be entirely dependent on you.”

Liz felt her spirits rise at Sophie’s words. “You really think so? I know how I feel about him, but it’s been a complicated and rocky trek to get there. I just can’t seem to get a clear picture of how he feels.”

“Yes, I do think so, and you will get there, it will just take time, and it just so happens you will have a lot of it very soon.” She led Liz back over to the designer suitcases and garment bags to finish packing. “Come on let’s get this packing done.” 

********************************************************************************************************

Red was sharing a drink with Nate. “You’re sure you can trust Sterling?” Red took a sip as he regarded Nate over the top of the glass.

Nate shook his head, thinking for a moment before answering. “Normally, no. But from reading between the lines of what he was saying, he may have some political plans, not in the government, but with Interpol. He believes that getting Madeline will be a huge feather in his hat.”

Red stared off into the distance while he reflected on Madeline Pratt. He was not interested in her as a romantic partner anymore, but he did not want to see her in prison. He may have sent Sterling after her, but he had thought she would be able to give him the slip, apparently that wasn’t the case.

She exploits the powerful people she comes into contact with, yes, but she is not a killer, or dangerous, though in the black and white world of law enforcement she was a bad guy. It was his fault that she was outed, so to speak, when he brought in the FBI after she asked him for help. 

If he reacted now to keep her out of Sterling’s grasp, Lizzie would undoubtedly take it as a sign he was in love with Maddie and he was afraid Lizzie would withdraw from him. He did not want to cause her to close up now that she had just opened herself up to him.

“What if instead of Madeline Pratt you gave him Gwilym?” Nate knew of his history with Maddie, but hopefully his motives in suggesting the swap would stay under the radar, he never liked to be the one being under the microscope.

Nate turned in his chair to make sure the girls were still occupied with the packing before turning back to Red and answering. “You want me to let Maddie escape and offer Gwilym to Sterling instead because if you step in to save Maddie, Liz will get jealous and probably walk away from you, is that about right?”

Nate was a perceptive bastard. Any other time he would welcome it, but right now he was uncomfortable. He did not look at Nate when he replied. “It seems to me, Gwilym would be the more sought after prize, Madeline Pratt is a small fish compared to him.”

Nate thought about pressing Red a bit more just for fun, but with Liz close by it wouldn’t be good if she overheard. “What about your friends at the FBI, didn’t you promise them Gwilym?” He leaned forward in his chair to catch Red’s gaze. “How is losing that whale going to sit with them.?”

Red chuckled lightly. Donald would be furious, and he will take great delight in rubbing in the fact that Interpol was able to swoop in and take the target out from under him, double the reward.  
“They will be frustrated for sure, but not anything they aren’t used to, especially now that I am not there to drop bread crumbs.”

Nate laughed and sat back. “It will be good to have someone like you owe me a favor. Alright, Sophie and I will work up a plan after we get you two out of here.”

********************************************************************************************************

They were finally in the air. She hadn’t asked Red were they were going, not that she didn’t want to know, there were just so many things going on that she hadn’t thought to ask. 

Red was sitting across from her, looking over their covers, making sure that everything was as it should be, not that he didn’t trust his people she was sure. He was just very detailed orientated, it was a good thing most of the time. 

The stewardess kept walking up and down the aisle with one excuse or another. Liz could tell she was trying her best to catch Red’s attention and wondered how often Red took her into the small bedroom in the back of the plane. He mostly ignored her except for a thank you when she brought his drink, but he was ignoring Liz too. She wasn’t sure what that meant. 

She got up and made her way to the small restroom, after she was done and washed her hands, she decided to lay on the couch just outside of the small bedroom and read the book she had brought. Not that she would be able to concentrate on what she read, but at least she didn’t have to sit across from him and be ignored. 

She had just settled in and opened her book, when Red loomed over her. She glanced up at him inquiringly. “Hey, our cover all in order?”

Red continued to regard her for a moment before speaking. “There is a bedroom through that door if you need to rest Lizzie, no need to nap on the couch.”

She flicked her eyes to the stewardess who was standing not far behind Red trying to look busy, but noticeably eavesdropping and then to the door to the room, before looking back at him. “The couch is fine, I’m not tired right now anyway, just reading for a bit.” 

She help up the book even though he could obviously see it resting on her chest and offered him a small smile. She didn’t think she could be in that room and not think about Red and the stewardess.

Red drew in an annoyed breath and turned to the stewardess. “Ellen, would you please give us some privacy.” He turned immediately back to Liz, not even waiting for the woman’s answer, only expecting she do what was asked.

He waited until he was sure Ellen had left before he addressed Lizzie again. “You think I’ve shared the bed with her.” 

It wasn’t a question, but now that he brought it up, she wanted to know for sure. No, maybe she didn’t. Ugh, this was stupid, it shouldn’t matter if he had, it’s not like they were really married. But here she was again asking a question best left to herself. Her gaze never left his as she almost whispered the question. “Have you?”

He thought about avoiding the question, because he didn’t want to upset her and would not lie to her. But she needed to get over any women he had in his past, he shouldn’t be held accountable for that, he certainly wasn’t holding her past against her. He hated to think of Tom touching her so intimately, but that was then and this is now.

He gingerly knelt on the floor beside her. He locked gazes with her and opened his mouth to speak several times, trying to think of the best way to say it, but knowing there would be no ‘best way’ so he settled for the simplist. “Yes”

She drew in a sharp breath before she could stop herself. Of course he wouldn’t lie to her, he had promised never to and it seemed he was holding to that. She really didn’t know what to say, she couldn’t accuse him of anything, he was free to indulge when he wanted. 

But it was more awkward now than before, how would she look the woman in the eye now without her jealousy being visible. He was still looking at her so she gave him all she could in the moment. “Thank you for being honest with me, you didn’t have to tell me at all.”

He reached up and smoothed the back of his hand over her cheek. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t even thinking of her when we readied the jet, my only thoughts have been on getting us out of the country.” 

God, she hated acting like a jealous girlfriend all the time. If she just knew where they stood with each other it would help. 

She just wanted to get back to her book and forget this conversation ever happened. “It’s ok, I know you have been working non stop on this, don’t give it another thought.” 

He took the book from her when she tried to lift it back up to her face and set it down on the floor next to him. He took her hand and rose stiffly from the floor tugging her into a sitting position. He sat next to her then and pulled her into his arms. 

He breathed in her scent for a moment, he loved her scent. It was fresh with a hint of something fruity, mixed with her personal scent, he loved it. He wanted to run his tongue along her skin and see if she tasted like she smelled. 

Before his thoughts derailed him any further, he spoke. “A business deal had not gone as I had hoped, I was frustrated and… “

She reached up and covered his mouth with her hand to stop him. She really did not want to hear about it, even if he felt it was a mistake or a one time thing, or whatever. “Please, don’t. Can we just forget this.” 

He gently kissed her hand before taking it away from his mouth. “I need you to know that Ellen and any other woman I have been with are in my past, and I can’t change that. All I can do is promise that as long as we are together there will be no one else.”

“How long will we be together Red?” She needed to know if he planned on leaving once her name was cleared and she was free to go back to her life. She didn’t want to think of a future without him, but she didn’t want to assume that he wanted the same. 

“That is entirely up to you Lizzie.” He lifter her hand and kissed her knuckles one by one. 

“What if when this is all over, I want you to stay?” She didn’t want to let hope unfurl in her heart, she must know if she needed to protect herself, though if she was honest, after the Tom conversation, she would be fighting a losing battle. 

He pressed a kiss to her forehead. She wanted reassurances, but he wasn’t ready yet to put himself out there, he was still so afraid that after she got to know him a bit better, she wouldn’t want him. “Let’s take it slow Lizzie, let’s use this time to get to know each other and see if I am the future you really want.”

He stood and pulled her with him as he went into the bedroom. “It’s late and there are still a few more hours until we land.” 

He led her to the bed and started to take off his vest and tie.

“Red?” She stood there just watching him as his vest and tie were placed onto a hook on the wall and he started on the buttons of his dress shirt, luckily he was wearing an undershirt or she would have probably started to drool. She wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do. 

He walked over and placed his hand on her shoulder. “We are just going to sleep Lizzie and I don’t know about you, but sleeping in my clothes has never been very comfortable.”

“Umm, okay.” Red wasn’t looking the least uncomfortable about undressing in front of her, so she decided she may as well get comfortable as well. 

She took off her shoes and then her jeans, he had just hung his dress shirt on the hook when she grabbed it and as quick as she could peeled her shirt off and put his on. Once she was done she reached underneath the shirt and undid her bra, leaving her in his shirt and her panties.

He had stopped to watch her as soon as she had grabbed his shirt, he couldn’t take his eyes off her, it wasn’t until she moved to get into the bed that he realized he had been staring. He quickly took off his dress pants and hung them up before getting into bed with her.

He laid there for a few minutes but was having trouble willing himself to sleep. He turned to his side facing her before reaching out to gently rub his palm on her arm and shoulder. “Lizzie?”

She turned her head to look back at him. “Yes Red?”

He swallowed, why was this so hard? He should just turn over now, but he ached to hold her. “Would you grant me the honor of letting me hold you while you sleep?”

She wanted to, but she was unsure. He said he wanted to take things slow. She knew she could trust him though, he was always the gentlemen. “Will you still be here when I wake up?”

He smiled to reassure her, he hated Tom even more knowing he was the cause of a lot of her insecurities. He would do his best to show her how valued she was. “Of course Lizzie.”

She scooted backwards towards him until she felt him behind her. He grabbed her around the waist and brought her against him.

“Sweet dreams Lizzie.” He kissed her temple and brushed his chin over her hair a few times before he settled.

“You too Red.” She must have been more tired than she realized as her eyes were drooping already. Her last thought before drifting off was that she loved the feeling of him pressed against her back and his arm around her, she felt safe and secure.


	10. Chapter 10

As soon as Red and Liz left to the airstrip, Nate called Hardison to bring Elliot and Parker in. Elliot was able to get a hold of a friend with a chopper and they were back in Portland a few hours later.

As soon as Elliot walked in he asked, “What’s going on, why have plans changed. I thought we needed the FBI to follow us and keep them off Ray and Liz’s trail?”

Nate held up his hands in a placating gesture to calm Elliot. “Sterling is back, he followed Madeline Pratt right here to our back door. There is apparently a painting she wants to steal.”

Parker perked up at the mention of stealing. “Okay, but why bring us back? Does Madeline need help on this job or something?”

Sophie shook her head, it was really adorable how excited she got at the prospect of thieving. “We need you to steal it Parker, so Sterling won’t have anything to arrest Maddie for.”

Hardison sat up straighter with a look of disbelief. “I thought that was the whole point in Ray going to Florence and getting the info on her latest heist, you know so Sterling can arrest her.”

“Ray was sure she would give Sterling the slip, leaving him floundering a few days before he tucked in his tail and came back, but it looks as if Sterling is playing it cool and she has no idea he is after her, or she could be playing with him.” Nate walked around the bar so he was facing everyone. “So, we are going to let Sterling have Gwilym, not Madeline.”

Elliot shook his head, wondering at the strange turn of events. “Just how are we going to get Gwilym here, he is pretty focused on finding Liz to get to Ray.”

Nate placed his hands on the bar in front of him. “We give him something he wants more.”

Elliot looked unconvinced. “What could he possibly want more than Ray right now. He thinks Ray has set the FBI on his trail. The guy is pretty pissed.”

Parker, looking at the details of the painting she needed to steal on a tablet Sophie gave her, snorted and chimed in without looking up. “Money, duh.”

Nate was almost giddy with the anticipation of working a job, especially since the last one had gotten so out of hand, he really wanted to be the one to stick it to Gwilym now. “Yes, Parker, money.”

Nate gestured to Hardison and his computer. “Have you found all of his accounts yet from the information Ray’s people were able to provide?”

Hardison sat back from his computer with a look of pride. “Yeah, it looks like I got them all. As soon as you give the signal I will drain them all into an untraceable account.”

“Helping out friends and getting paid, now that is what I call fun.” Sophie moved next to Parker to see what she was up to, she had been staring at the tablet for a while now.

Parker, feeling Sophie behind her, answered the unspoken question. “Hardison sent the plans for the house where the painting is now. Once you talk to Maddie, we should have all the information we need and I should be able to get the painting quickly.” 

Nate regarded Parker proudly for a moment, she had blossomed so much in the time she had been with the team. “Once we have Maddie and the painting secure, we convince Sterling to play our game and take Gwilym as his prize.”

Elliot was beginning to accept the change of plans. “What’s our game with Gwilym, and where do I fit in?” 

Nate walked around and put his hand on Elliot’s shoulder. “Since you’ve already been seen by Gwilym, you will have to stay with Hardison in the van monitoring everything.”

Hardison was inordinately fond of his ‘van’ and hated when she was referred to as such so he quickly supplied. “Lucille. She is not just a van, she is a member of this team that has made possible the success of many of our jobs.”

“Dammit Hardison!” Elliot shouted at him. “Cut it out with the van has feelings crap, it’s just a van.”

Nate held up his hands to both of them to stop before they erupted into an old argument. “We need Sterling to let us use the house that Parker will steal the painting from, to use it as a cover. I will pose as a bored businessman looking to staff my new vacation pad with girls from his flesh peddling buddies.”

Sophie was glad she had already been seen as well, she had no desire to cross paths with him again. “When he brings the ‘merchandise,’ Sterling arrests him and his gang, with the bonus of rescuing the poor women he brought with him.”

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Everything went as planned. Parker stole the painting and had everyone astounded that it could just disappear, and sent it home with Madeline. Sterling had kept it out of the news mainly to save his own ass. He had agreed readily to Nate’s suggestion of luring and capturing Gwilym, which also worked as planned. 

What Nate wasn’t prepared for was Gwilym spilling all he knew about Red and Liz, trying to convince Sterling that he should be let go to get Raymond Reddington, who he would then graciously turn over to Sterling.

Luckily Sterling wasn’t buying it, but Nate could see by the gleam in his eye that he had just found a new target to occupy himself with during the month he had promised not to bother Nate and his team.

Thankfully, Nate had Agent Hagen call a certain Agent Ressler, who conveniently showed up during the arrest and he and Sterling got into an argument over whose prisoner he was. That should keep Sterling occupied a couple of days, giving Ray a chance to blend in and disappear.

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Red woke still curled around Lizzie. He felt so content in that moment. He risked a glance at his watch and realized they would need to get redressed as they would be landing in the next 30 minutes. There would be more time later to have Lizzie in his arms, hopefully one of those times he would be able to indulge in some of his fantasies he had been having of her.

He woke Lizzie before his body could betray his thoughts. “Wake up, Lizzie, we’re almost there.”

She turned and smiled sleepily up at him. She was so beautiful, he couldn’t resist and dropped his lips to hers in a quick kiss, then rolled over and got out of bed to redress before she could respond and then they would be going nowhere for hours.

Liz was pleasantly surprised by the kiss, but before she could respond he rolled away, damn the man. She was going to have to catch him off guard like that and then act as if nothing happened. Turnabout was fair play after all.

He watched her reaction out of the corner of his eye. The smile, the disappointment and bewilderment, and then the mischievous smile before she too got up and started to dress. He faltered in his own dressing for a moment wondering what that smile could mean. Oh, this woman fascinated him like no other, he couldn’t wait to see what she had in store for him.

Once dressed she followed Red out to get seated and buckled in for the landing, to her surprise he sat next to her instead of across, she chanced a look at him and found him smiling at her. This man could turn her insides to mush with just a look, and he knew it too because his smile turned into a leer. 

Bastard, she thought with a laugh and gave him a sultry smile in return. “I never even asked, where we are going? Are you going to tell me now that we are almost there?”

He looked at her for a moment more, enjoying the blush triggered by the look he was giving her. “I thought I had told you already.” At the shake of her head to indicate that he hadn’t he told her, “Istanbul, have you ever been?” 

“Why do you ask me questions you already know the answer to?” She shook her head at the teasing look in his eyes knowing he wasn’t going to answer so she asked another. “Okay then, why are we in a country that clearly has an extradition treaty with the U.S.?”

He really needed to teach her to quit thinking like a cop and quickly. “Who needs to worry about extradition when you have friends in high places.” At her look of skepticism he chuckled. “Trust me Lizzie, we will be safe here for a while, I would not have brought you here if I thought they would rat us out and send you back to DC.”

She sighed knowing he was right. She needed to relax and let him do what he did best, hopefully he would bring her even closer and into his inner circle so she could learn a thing or two about being on the run. “I do trust you Red, err Todd.” She corrected herself, knowing that it was crucial that they get used to their new names quickly.

She reached over and took his hand in hers, entwining their fingers. “I just want you to be able to trust me too, I need to learn how to do this and quit thinking like a cop, I know how much you hate that.”

The lights went on signaling they could get out of their seats. He rose and brought Lizzie up with him and pulled her into his arms to nuzzle her neck for a moment before pulling back. “I do trust you… Bekki.” He chuckled at her sour look at the use of the shortened name. “And I will teach you the tricks of the trade.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her along to exit the jet. “Come along, dear, I can not wait for you to see where we are staying.”

There was a car waiting for them. Red led her over to where the driver was holding the door and helped her inside, then went around the car and slid in next to her.

“The hotel we are staying at is at the Ciragan Palace in the Sultan’s suite. There is a 180-degree view of the Bosphorus.” He couldn’t wait to introduce her to luxury. She deserved to be spoiled and pampered.

Liz thought he had lost his mind, weren’t they supposed to be hiding? “That sounds like it is pretty expensive. I thought we would be traveling as an inconspicuous couple on a honeymoon.”

There would be times they would be forced to live more frugally, but thankfully this wasn’t one of those times. “The only inconspicuous thing about this cover is our names. The president of Turkey is a friend of mine, well acquaintance, but he does owe me some huge favors.”

She stared at him in wonder. This was going to be her life, for a while anyway. Would she get used to it, how would she be able to go back to ‘normal’ after this? She grinned at him, he looked so excited. It made him appear so much younger, she liked seeing him like this. “How in the world does the president of Turkey owe you favors? There has to be some interesting stories there.”

There were a couple of stories he could tell her, and a few he could not. She would have to face the darker side of what he did eventually, but he would keep that from her as long as possible. 

He grinned back at her. “Indeed there are, but they can wait until later over a glass of wine in our suite.” 

Liz had to take a deep breath, just the thought of being alone with him for the entire evening was giving her a serious case of the nerves. He wanted to take things slow, so probably no sex, but that was all she could think about. She had to shake her head of those thoughts before she jumped him in the car. Actually, a little payback was in order wasn’t it?

Before she could talk herself out of it, she launched herself over to his side of the car to straddle his lap. His startled expression was priceless, but she saw no rejection so she bent her head and captured his lips in a kiss. 

As soon as she felt him responding and reaching for her hips, she moved back over to her side of the car, and commented on the beautiful building they were pulling up to as if she hadn’t just vaulted over onto him to attack his lips. “Oh wow, is this where we are staying? It’s beautiful!” She looked back to find him regarding her lasciviously.

He licked his lips. God, she tasted good. He wasn’t so sure taking things slow would be possible now. His voice still sounded aroused when he answered her. “Yes, sweetheart, I’m glad you like it. Just wait until you see the bedroom.” Her eyes widened and he stepped out of the car before she could reply.


	11. Chapter 11

They were quickly ushered up to their suite to be greeted by the butler. They stepped into a foyer with doors leading off to different parts of the suite. The main room was decorated in the Turkish style with a large seating area and huge windows with a gorgeous view of the Bosphorus. 

She peeked into the door leading to the bathroom. It was covered floor to ceiling in marble tile. A huge mirror almost covered one wall, a round jacuzzi tub and a walk in rain fall shower on another. On the remaining wall was a huge picture window with a view of the peninsula.

She heard Red dismiss the butler as she pushed the door open to the master bedroom. It was magnificent, in the center of the room was a sleigh style double bed facing another huge picture window, the old city and a tower, clearly visible.

She turned when she heard Red walk into the room, turning to tell him how wonderful she thought it was. She never got the chance, as he spun her around and had her against the wall before she could utter a single sound.

Red looked at her a moment, hungrily taking in her lovely shocked features before he pressed himself into her. “I believe you started something and I think you need to finish it,” he growled out before he bent to kiss her.

Liz felt fire suddenly light up and lick at her body. There was no where to hide, all she could do was hang on and trust him to keep her from burning up. She lifted her leg and he grabbed on to it and adjusted himself right where she needed him the most, roughly rocking against her.

He broke the kiss suddenly and looked at her flushed features, her eyes were dazed and full of desire. He needed to slow down or this would be over before it started. He grabbed her other leg and lifted it up to come around him then he walked them over to the bed and gently laid her on it. 

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A few hours later they laid entwined in a tangle of sheets and each others limbs. Liz snuggled closer to Red’s side and he tightened his arm around her. She tilted her head to look up at him and traced his jaw with her fingertip. “I thought we were going to take this slowly?”

“Mmmhm.” Was the only response he could muster just then. Who knew he would be capable of going three times in such a short period of time, he hadn’t done that since he was a young man.

She loved seeing him like this. He was totally relaxed, there was no worry creasing his brow and no tension coiling making his body rigid. She realized she was starving, they hadn’t eaten since breakfast and it was nearing one in the morning now. She giggled, remembering the nicknames he had cheekily suggested before. “Hey, stallion.” 

He turned to look down at her then and waggled his eyebrows at her. “You were doubtful weren’t you my little honeysuckle.” he turned towards her and started to kiss her neck.

She tried to push him off her playfully. “I’m famished, I need to eat and build up some strength or I’m going to be totally useless.”

He peppered her neck and collarbone with a few more kisses before rolling away and getting up. “Okay, fine, never let it be said that I don’t take proper care of you.”

While they dressed Red suddenly had the urge to get out for a while. “Let’s go out to eat, I want to show you the city at night.”

“It’s one in the morning.” Of course He could probably have a restaurant opened because he once saved someone from certain death or some other equally exaggerated story.

“Under the Galata Bridge are restaurants and cafe’s, most of which are open through the night.” She looked skeptical and he could just imagine what she was thinking.

He held up his hand like he was about to swear in at court. “I promise that I have not threatened or killed anyone to keep these places open.”

She grabbed his hand and pulled him out the door. He was so adorable, it was killing her. “Let’s go, they better have something substantial to offer, I’m starving.”

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The next morning they made love and ate breakfast in bed and made love again. Red wanted to show her some of the sights and promised to teach her a bit about life on the run, so they got ready and headed out just before lunch time.

They took the train to a lovely peaceful seaside neighborhood with children playing in the streets. “Where are we?”

“The modern name is Mustafapasa, though just about everyone in Istanbul refers to it by the Byzantine name of Samatya, it means sandy place.” He put his hand in hers and continued walking down the street. “There is an annual Lüfer Bayrami, or Bluefish holiday, held here each year. It’s all about preventing the extinction of the local lüfer fish.

He was extremely knowledgeable about a wide variety of subjects. She wondered if he was genuinely interested or if he learned them just to show off. “I thought you were going to teach me about how to survive in this life not tell me stories.”

His stopped walking then and turned to look at her. “I am sweetheart, pay attention. This is half of what you need to know.” 

He kissed the frown on her brow. “To make it in my world, you need to learn the local customs, eat what they eat, and so on.” He waved his free hand in an all encompassing motion. “To hide in plain sight, you must immerse yourself in the culture of the local people, wherever that may be.”

Liz understood now why he was a human encyclopedia, she would have to really step up her game. ”Oh, got it. Learn it, live it.”

He smiled proudly at her, she would catch on quickly. “Exactly. Now there is a lovely little restaurant just a few doors down, that serves the most divine dishes you will ever taste."

When they reached the place Red told her about, he held the door for Liz and she preceded him into the shop. It was small but cozy and only a few customers. A large Armenian woman that looked to be in her late seventies, looked up when they entered and gasped. “Im sireli tghan!” 

She rounded the corner and enveloped Red in a hug. “Where have you been, it has been at least four years since you have come by to see us.” She looked beside him to give Liz a once over. “Ov e ayd kiny?”

He chuckled and brought his hand around Liz’s waist and brought her to his side. “This is my wife Rebecca." He gestured toward the older woman. “Bekki, this is Hasmik.”

Liz smiled at the woman and extended her hand towards her. Hasmik looked at her hand for a second before slapping it away and pulling Liz into a tight hug. “You belong to our boy, that makes you family.”

Hasmik motioned for them to follow her. Liz looked back at Red in bemusement, he laughed and placed his hand at her back to keep her moving and leaned towards her to whisper, “I’ve known them for seventeen years or so, she and her husband are childless and sort of adopted me.”

Hasmik led them past the kitchens and up a set of stairs into a beautifully rustic apartment. An older gentlemen sat in a recliner chair facing a window smoking a pipe. “Tavik, come over here and see who has come to visit, and he brings a wife.”

Tavik, stood with some difficulty and Red met him there to give him a friendly hug. “Tavik, please let me introduce you to my lovely wife Rebecca.”

Liz came to stand next to them and and Tavik motioned her in for a quick hug. He smelled of the apple and cherry wood tobacco he had been smoking.

Hasmik started setting the table with enough food to feed an army. “You always seem to know when the food is being served jans.” She waved to everyone to sit at the table.

She had set out barbecued meats, roasted and pickled veggies, a round of homemade cheese that looked delicious and some meat and herb mixture rolled inside grape leaves and some flat bread.

They sat around talking for a couple of hours with Tavik and Hasmik sharing stories of Red and his visits. He seemed relaxed and at ease with them, she realized he trusted them, he didn’t have to pretend to be someone else.

It really gave Liz insight into the character of this man, not what he was forced to become in his role as The Concierge of Crime, but the man underneath it all. No matter the atrocities he committed in his criminal life, he seemed able to keep a part of his humanity intact. Having little places like this must help with that.

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The next day they woke early, Red had a meeting with a client and they were going to see the Grand Bazaar. 

Things were progressing nicely between the two of them. They talked long into the night and were getting to know each other. Red was surprisingly open with her regarding his family, though she didn’t press too much as she could see it caused him pain.

Just as they were about to leave the suite, the burner phone Red was carrying for emergencies rang. He answered and then, after a moment, mouthed "Dembe," so she would know who he was speaking to. He listened for a moment more and then said goodbye, ending the call. 

His brow was furrowed and his lips pursed when he spoke to her. "We will need to leave tomorrow or the day after at the latest. It seems Sterling has learned our whereabouts from Gwilym."

That was not good, she was worried now. "How did Gwilym know where we went"

He lip twitched up at the corner in agitation. "The tail number on my jet, I haven't used that particular jet in a while so I wasn't worried, though it seems I should have been."

He had said they were safe here and the government would not turn them over but he still seemed concerned. "I thought the president would help you?"

He made sure to clear his face of any worry to reassure her. He was fairly certain things would work out, but he planned for all eventualities. "He will, and this is where his help will come into play. I'll make a call and set an appointment with him for this evening to work everything out."

Liz knew he was still concerned, he was just trying to hide it. He had been doing this for a long time though, she just needed to keep trusting him to see to their safety.

There would be a time that he would trust her enough to plan these things out with her, but this was still new for them both. They just needed time.

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As soon as they walked through the entrance Liz was in awe, there were so many different shops crammed one right next to the other. “Wow, I can see why they call it the Grand Bazaar.”

He was enjoying Lizzie’s wonder at seeing this for the first time. He sometimes forgot to stop and really look at things anymore, he felt jaded. “This is the only place we will be seeing today, and we won’t even be able to see it all. It is made up of over sixty streets and alleyways and over four thousand shops, stalls and cafes.”

She looked askance at him, unsure if he really meant to stay and shop with her the entire day. “I can stay and shop while you go meet your contact.”

He shook his head at her, there is no way he was going to leave her here alone while he went to the meeting. “It’s not safe sweetheart.”

“I can take care of myself, you don’t have to be with me every second.” At his sullen expression she was quick to add. “Not that I won’t enjoy spending all this time with you, but I can’t believe you would want to spend the entire day shopping.”

“I am aware of how capable you are, my dear, but I won’t be able to properly concentrate on the meeting if my mind keeps wandering to you and what you are doing.” He took her by the hand and led her to the first shop.

She knew it was useless to argue with him when he looked so determined. “Fine, but no complaining and I don’t have any money on me, so you are buying.”

He leaned forward and gave her a quick kiss, he loved getting his way. “Yes, my dear.”


	12. Chapter 12

Liz was exhausted by the time they got back from the bazaar. Luckily Red’s meeting was little more than lunch with a ‘friend’. 

They had time for a small nap and then they got ready for dinner with the president. They needed to be there by nine, she thought it was too late for dinner, but Red assured her the president usually ate around that time, so they weren’t inconveniencing him in the least. 

They travelled there by helicopter to the newly constructed presidential complex, that has been deemed the White Palace. It was a compound of three massive buildings that would house the various offices of the Turkish government as well as a 250 room family residence for the president. 

The president met them inside and he and Red embraced like they were long lost brothers.

“Who is this beauty that you have brought with you this evening? not in your usual style is she.”

Liz wasn’t sure she liked being compared to Red’s various other female companions, but tried not to let that show on her face. 

Thankfully Red had decided to keep up at least her part of their cover. “This is my beautiful wife Rebecca, Bekki, this old dog is Recep.” 

He was smiling brightly but she could see the apology in his eyes. She relaxed then, letting Red know it was okay by smiling brightly and extending her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, my husband has told me much about you.”

Recep’s eyes widened in mock horror. “Not too much I hope. there are just some things wives need not know about.” He laughed uproariously at his joke.

Red laughed too, but she could tell he didn't appreciate the joke anymore than she did. This was going to be a long night, hopefully alcohol would be served.

He led them up the stairs to see his newly remodeled office. “This used to be a prime minister’s compound, but I have rebranded it as the presidential compound, so I felt I needed a fitting office.”

The room was ridiculously opulent, bordering on gaudy. Red whistled appreciatively to appease Recep. “You have quite outdone yourself here, this room alone must have cost a fortune, I am surprised they let you spend so much, considering the presidency is largely a ceremonial position.”

Recep guffawed, extremely pleased with Red’s reaction. “What is money anyway, huh? Turkey is changing and we need a place to entertain visiting dignitaries in style.” He looked over at Liz. “Much like your white house, this compound will become a national symbol for Turkey.”

Liz tried her best to be properly awed with the grandeur of the office. She was glad she didn’t have to spend hours each day in a place like this.

Recep then led them down a few flights of stairs to a room where Liz could smell something wonderful wafting through the air. “It smells delicious down here.”

Red agreed with her and exclaimed. “Well, if I wasn’t hungry already, I certainly am now.” 

There was a large table in the middle of the room set lavishly for dinner and several waiters waiting to serve courses and drinks.

A very young woman dressed very provocatively stood when they entered and came to stand near Recep. “This is my Kitty. If I knew you were going to bring your wife, I would have brought mine. I assumed your cover was just that, forgive me.”

Red waved his hand in a dismissive gesture and pulled Lizzie to his side. “Think nothing of it, I should have clarified our relationship.”

Liz would have to thank him properly later for keeping up with pretenses. She just laughed lightly with them and hoped the wine would flow soon. 

After they finished eating Red and Recep talked business and Red apologized for the short notice. “I know we agreed for you to have them in a few days time, but the circumstances have changed and we need to hurry.”

Recep dismissed his apology. “Anything for you my friend. If it weren’t for you I would have one less son. You have come to my aide more times than I can count, I am happy to be returning the favor.” 

Recep reached over and placed his companion in his lap before continuing to Red. “My jet and your new identities will be ready by tomorrow afternoon, and don’t worry about Mr. Sterling, I will keep him busy here until you leave.”

As Recep continued to fondle his companion, Red could see Lizzie was uncomfortable even with all the wine they had consumed and decided it was time to take their leave. 

Red stood and patted his belly. “Thank you for the wonderful meal and conversation, but my wife is getting tired, so I am going to get her back to the suite.”

Recep barely managed to lift his head from Kitty’s breasts to say goodbye to them. 

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True to his word, Recep kept Sterling busy until Red and Liz were safely in the air. They were now Jeff and Melissa Green. He had a penchant for a certain kind of name he like to call her, Lizzie, Bekki and now Missy.

The flight to Tokyo was over eleven hours, they spent nine of those hours in the small bedroom in the back of the plane. They had emerged briefly for something to eat to regain their strength. It was so much better than the flight from the U.S. to Istanbul. 

They were staying in a touristy hotel. Nothing extravagant like before, but certainly not a dump.  
They freshened up and had brunch in the hotel before heading out to see a few sights. First up was Takeshita Dori.

Lizzie looked at the shops lining the street and the teens in their colorful garb and was confused. “Red why are we here, you can’t possibly think this would be a disguise I would wear?”

“I was thinking more along the lines of role play, sweetheart, but if you don’t like that idea, we can go.” He turned and started to walk away.

She grabbed his arm to keep him there. Dressing up could be interesting, he already proved to be creative in bed. “Come on, show me what you like.” He smiled like a fool as she led him into the shop.

An hour later they had picked out a pink wig with pigtails, Red framed glasses, a very short white dress with a red strawberry motif, thigh high white stockings, six inch red heels and pink plastic bowtie accessories. 

Red was looking like he just won the lottery. She was happy she had given in and gotten the clothes, now she couldn’t wait to get back to the hotel and see what he had planned.

They took a 30 min bus ride to the Ueno Zoo and spent the rest of the afternoon going from exhibit to exhibit. She cuddled up to Red’s side and jumped in excitement. “Those pygmy hippos are the cutest.” She leaned up and kissed him. “Thank you, I’ve had the best day. I’m really hungry now though, can we get something to eat?

Red looked at his watch to make sure it was time for the reservations he had made earlier while she had went to the restroom. “Of course, my dear, I took the liberty earlier of making reservations for us at a little restaurant I know of.”

After they had stuffed themselves on a multi course kaiseki meal they went back to the hotel. Red barely managed to get the door open before the phone in the room started to ring. She remembered what the last phone call was and hoped this one would have better news. 

She laid their purchases on the bed while she waited for Red to finish the call. He said less than five words the entire conversation before ending the call. 

Red covered his face in his hands and slumped forward to rest his elbows on his knees. He could not believe this was happening. Of all the people after them, this had to be the worst. He was unsure how to tell her or if he should. She would be furious with him if she found out that he kept it from her, but he needed her safe.

He felt the bed dip behind him and her hands slide up his back and around his shoulders, pressing herself into him in a hug from behind. He felt like weeping, they had gone through so much and had come out on the other side stronger, and were now in a relationship that he had only ever dared to dream about. This phone call could have all of that come crashing down around his feet.

She was starting to worry when after a few minutes he still hadn’t spoken. she was almost afraid to know what the call was all about. She whispered his name in his ear. “Ray?”

He startled a little at her use of his name. He needed to say something, but for maybe the third time in his life he was at a loss for words. He took her hands in his and kissed them. He turned to look at her and saw her worried expression. “I’m sorry sweetheart, I didn’t mean to worry you.”

She knew he was gearing up to redirect her attentions in a misguided effort to keep her safe. She needed to stop him quickly. “No, no. this is not my worried face, this is my game face.” 

She moved off the bed and knelt in front of him. “You are not alone anymore, we do this together. We will get through whatever this is and when we do, you are taking me somewhere we can enjoy the sand, surf, and many Mojitos.”

He reached out and cupped her cheek. He really did love this woman. She was so strong, he should tell her and let her make this decision to go with him or not. 

Sitting before him in her short cropped blonde hair only served to remind him of what happens when he doesn’t let her in. The outcome of this could shatter them both, or make them stronger. Either way, she was right, they were in this together now.

He leaned forward and kissed her lightly before bringing her to sit beside him on the bed. “You’re right, we are in this together.” He took a shuddering breath before he could continue, knowing this would be difficult for her. “Your mother seems to have found out about you and is looking for you.”

She felt as if all the air left her lungs. Had he lied to her? “You said she died of weakness and shame.”

He was quick to reassure her, lest she become angry with him and refuse to hear his explanation. “She did, at least I thought that she did.”

“A few years after I had taken you to Sam she committed suicide. I had no reason to doubt it, and a friend at the time confirmed it was her body. By the time I had my own network of people and a business to run, the thought to check the facts never occurred to me.” 

She wasn’t sure what to think, Red was obviously worried, but she never thought she would have the chance to meet her mother. “I can see you are worried, but I can’t help being a little excited to meet her.”

His face fell, this was it, this was what he didn’t want to tell her, she thought her father had been hurting her mother, so she could at least feel that shooting him was justified. But now he was going to shatter that memory for her too. 

Would she hate him all over again for not telling her the full story as soon as she told him she remembered? “Lizzie, sweetheart.” He looked up at the ceiling, he needed to prepare himself for what he would see on her beautiful face when he told her the truth. “Your mother was the dangerous one, not your father.”

She stood up abruptly and paced the room a few times trying to wrap her brain around what he had just said. She walked back to stand in front of him, his handsome face was devastated, he was probably blaming himself again for not being able to protect her.

She stepped into his space and lifted his arms to her waist, inviting a hug. He didn’t have to be asked twice, he held onto her as if his life depended on it and buried his face into her midsection, they stayed that way for a few minutes.

“It’s not your fault, Ray.” She bent and kissed his head as she hugged him back. “I need you to tell me everything now. I need to understand what happened.”

He let go of her and sat back, she was shocked to see he had been crying. Her heart broke for him. He had been carrying this around with him to save her from the horrible truth. She realized in that moment how much she truly loved this man.

He started to speak, but she cut him off before he could. She felt she needed to tell him her feelings so he knew. She could give him that for all he had done for her. “I love you Ray. I just need you to know that before we go any further.”

He stood then and took her into a loving embrace. It was a moment before he could find his voice. “Thank you for telling me, you have to know I feel the same.” 

He would have to process later the feelings her words brought out in him, but for now they needed to focus on the problem at hand.

He took her face into his hands and kissed her softly before leading them to sit back down on the bed. “Your father was U.S. Intelligence, your mother was KGB. He found out that your mother had used him and his connections to get the fulcrum. At that time, the information contained in the fulcrum would have crippled the United States.”

Liz was still dazed from this new development. “Is that why they were fighting? Why did she leave me there?” She was fighting back tears now, wondering how it came to be that her mother left her there.

He put his arm lightly around her to give her whatever support he could, hearing this would be hard for her. If he could keep her from all of this he would, but the truth would help her for what they would face later

“Your mother searched for the fulcrum and was incensed that she couldn’t find it. She had no way of knowing if your father had already reported her activities or not, so she set the fire and fled.”

Liz wanted him to stop, she didn’t want to hear anymore, but she knew she needed to know what happened. She let her heart and her head war with each other for what seemed like an eternity before asking the most important question in a small voice even she didn’t recognize. “Did she know I was still in the house?”

"I'm so sorry sweetheart, she knew you were there. You were part of her cover and that cover, as far as she knew, had been blown." He wished he could take this pain away, he has failed her so miserably. She was supposed to have been spared this knowledge. 

Liz cried in great heaving sobs while Red held her. When she calmed some he moved them so he was leaning against the headboard and she was laying on his chest. 

“Why were you there?” She remembered seeing him, but the memories were still so mixed up in her head.

“I was there for the fulcrum, Lizzie.” He felt her stiffen beside him and worried that she wouldn’t let him finish, but thankfully she stayed silent.

“Your father called me and asked for my help, I was going to get the fulcrum and return it while he disappeared with you.”

She started to cry again, all he could do was hold her. This was not going to be easy for her. 

“None of this was your fault, you saw him hitting your mother and as a child you would not have known a gun would kill, you just wanted it to stop. There was no way you could have known what was happening.” He stroked her hair and ran a hand up and down her back until she calmed again.

She had already started to come to terms with killing her father. Hearing that he had been trying to protect her stung, but there was nothing she could do about it now. She would ask Ray after this was all over to try to find her father’s grave, if he didn’t know already, and she would make sure to visit and let him know how sorry she was. 

“What now? Do you have a plan?” 

“We will leave for Russia in the morning. Dembe and Mr. Kaplan will meet us there and we will work out a plan then.” He wished he could just whisk her away until the danger was over, but she would only resent him for it later and it felt really good to be able to share his thoughts with her. 

He’d never had a true partner, though he wasn’t sure just how deep Lizzie was willing to go. That would be a conversation to have once this danger had passed. “All of this activity from my side will likely draw the FBI. This could clear your name or only serve to muddy it.”

She hugged him a little tighter. She was so relieved he was being open with her. Who knows, maybe one day she would be the Mrs. Concierge of Crime. 

“Do you think we could appeal to Ressler one more time?” To think that Ressler and her friends thought her guilty of treason hurt so much, she hoped that they would be willing to help her.

Red didn’t want to think about all this anymore, they needed something to take their minds off it for a while. He then remembered the purchases they made earlier. “I don’t know about you, but I am game for a little role play right about now.”

She jumped off the bed and rummaged through her bag searching for that special bottle of wine. she pulled it out and turned back towards him. “How about a few drinks and then I’ll go get dressed up?”

She handed him the bottle and he turned it in his hands to read the label. The breath caught in his throat as he realized it was the bottle he bought for her birthday. “How did you get this Lizzie?”

“When Parker went to the Post Office she snuck into evidence and liberated it for me.” She was so happy right now and by the look on his face he was too.

“You go and get changed and I’ll open the bottle and get us a couple of glasses.” He couldn’t believe she had thought about the bottle with everything else going on.

She grabbed the bag off the bed and made her way into the bathroom, so thankful that she had sent Parker back for the wine. They would deal with Katarina and then she would tell him that she wanted him to stay. Together they would rule their world.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay in updating. RL has been kicking my butt. Thank you all for the kudos and reviews, I'm so glad you are all enjoying the adventure.

They landed at a small airstrip in Zviančatka, Belarus. As Liz came down the steps, she spotted a familiar figure. “Dembe! It’s good to see you.” She sped down the steps and engulfed the surprised man in a brief hug. 

Red barked a laugh as he followed her at a more sedate pace. He too hugged his friend tightly. He had missed him greatly, but was happy to have had the alone time with Lizzie. “How are you?” He stepped back enough to take a good look at him.

“I am well, my brother, but we must hurry and get to the safe house. We do not want to be in the open for too long.” He opened the door to let Liz in while Red went around and got in the other side.

The safe house was a small cabin out in the middle of nowhere close to the Russian border. Mr. Kaplan met then on the front porch. 

“About time you showed up, the coffee's getting cold.” 

Red chuckled and gave her a kiss on the cheek and a big bear hug. “Oh, I have missed your sass Kate.”

Mr. Kaplan knew Liz was still a little intimidated by her and they hadn’t exactly been on friendly terms, but what she did for Raymond when he was taken by Anslo and then again when he was shot had endeared her to the team.

She opened her arms and motioned for Liz to come closer for a hug which Liz stepped into awkwardly. “How are you dearie?” She turned slightly to look at Red when she said. “He wasn’t too grumpy and difficult was he?”

Liz looked to Ray to see what he thought about Mr. Kaplan’s question to find him with a wide smile and gazing at them affectionately. She wasn’t sure how to respond. She felt a little awkward now, just realizing that Mr. Kaplan and Dembe didn’t know of the shift in their relationship or if he wanted everyone to know. “No, of course not. We um, I mean, he wasn’t difficult at all.”

Red could see by her awkwardness that she was unsure if he wanted everyone to know about them. What she didn’t know is that he would shout it from the mountaintops if he could. 

“You should both know that Lizzie and I have entered into a romantic relationship.” He was pleased with the happy expressions on his friends faces. “We will have to change some of the paperwork around Kate, but that can wait, right now I could use some tea.”

As they walked into the cabin, Liz couldn’t keep the silly grin off her face. He didn’t want to keep their relationship a secret and that made her want to squeal in delight. She contained herself, but just barely.

Less than five minutes later they were sitting at the small kitchen table each with a cup of coffee, except for Red who opted for tea and a warm lemon scone that Kate had baked. Around a mouthful of warm scone, Red got down to business. “Have you two learned about how Katarina found out about Lizzie?”

Kate got up and retrieved a file from her satchel that sat near the door. She slid it over to Red to look over while she went over the details. “It looks like when Gwilym was arrested it created a firestorm when Interpol and the FBI almost went to war over who would get him. Many people have taken notice. Katarina must have some kind of connection who alerted her when your name was mentioned.”

“After all these years, why is she interested in me now? If she is still active, there would have been ample opportunities for her to try something before.” He rubbed the back of his head with his palm as he continued to look over the surveillance photos they managed to get a hold of. 

Lizzie moved her chair closer to Red to look over his shoulder at the photos. The woman in the photo’s looked nothing like her. “I was wondering if I looked like her, I guess not.”

Red gazed lovingly at Lizzie’s face for a moment. “You look more like your father, but you have one or two features of your mother.” He studied the pictures for a moment, trying to recall Katarina’s face clearly. “She looks to have had some plastic surgery to alter her appearance. It has kept her hidden all these years.”

“She may have been monitoring you through others for some time looking to see if you really had the fulcrum.” Dembe took another sip of his coffee, knowing his friend would not take the next part too well. “Now that you have taken Elizabeth on the run, I believe she put two and two together.”

He looked guiltily over at Lizzie but she was having none of it. “Don’t go there, Ray, Tom was probably feeding her information at some point too. He gave Berlin the name of everyone on our team… betrayal seems to be his MO.” She leaned over and kissed his cheek. “You told me before that I have you and you aren’t going to let anything happen to me.”

She was right, she was safer now that they were together, and he would die to protect her. He rubbed his hand up and down her back feeling comfort in the contact. Turning to Dembe, he asked, “You sure she is still here in Russia?”

Dembe reached forward and took the file, turning forward a few pages before returning the file to Red. “The picture there shows her getting off a plane a few days ago, in a small town just outside of Moscow, and our source says she has not left the area.”

Red drew his palm down his face as he thought about their next move. “We need to find out what she is planning."

Dembe's phone rang then. 

"Yes? Send a picture of the new arrival to this phone." 

He hung up and addressed Raymond. "Katarina was seen greeting someone at the airfield, we should get a picture in a moment. "

A few moments later the phone chirped, signaling there was a notification. Dembe handed the phone to Red.

As soon as Red saw who was in the photo his lips curled in anger and he spat out the name of Katarina's guest, "Gwilym."

Liz was shocked, he was supposed to be in FBI custody. "Gwilym was caught trafficking young girls, there is no way he should be free."

He reigned in his anger before speaking to Lizzie, he didn’t want her to think he was angry at her. "There are a couple of possibilities. Either he escaped with help from Katarina’s people, much like I helped to get you out, or Donald let him go hoping Gwilym would lead him to us." 

He could see Lizzie was upset that her friends were still pursuing her. It will be a difficult adjustment for her to not see them as friends but as adversaries. It had taken him a few years to learn that lesson himself.

Liz knew Ressler was just doing his job, but it didn't make his pursuit any less painful. "What if we called him, we could work with him to recapture Gwilym and he will get my mother as a bonus?"

"He told you before that his help was a one time deal and that as soon as he found Gwilym he would come for us." Red caressed her cheek with the back of his hand. "Donald can not help you, sweetheart." 

Liz closed her eyes against the pain. She knew in her head what Ray said was true, but her heart was having a hard time accepting it.

"Okay." She really didn’t think if it came down to it she could shoot her friend, but she would worry about that later if the situation arose.

Red knew what she was thinking, now that Donald had been placed in the role of adversary there was a real chance she may have to defend herself against him. He would be sure she wasn’t left alone to avoid a solo confrontation, his Lizzie had a soft heart.

“We are over two hundred miles from where Katarina is staying, Kate has arranged for a safe house just west of her location.” Dembe pointed to a position on a map that was hanging on the wall behind Red.

Red stood and walked to the map studying it for a few moments looking for any spots they could possibly be ambushed. “Okay, looks good. Have a message delivered to her and set up a meet in three days. That should give us enough time to prepare for any outcome.” 

Being within a stone’s throw worried Liz, what if they were found out before they could execute their plan. “Is it really such a good idea to stay so close to her?”

“It’s the best place, she won’t be expecting us so close. We will have to remain inside until the time of the meet, so we aren’t caught on any surveillance.” Red walked behind Lizzie and massaged her shoulders until he could feel the tension easing. 

Mr. Kaplan picked up the file and returned it to her satchel. “The door off of the main area is an office. I put everything we could gather on what Katarina had been up to since her supposed suicide in there. Unfortunately, it’s not much. She seems to have dropped off the planet until about six months after you turned yourself in.”

It seems she had been monitoring him very closely and must have figured out what Lizzie’s connection to him was. What Red couldn’t figure out was how. He hoped to get a chance to ask.

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When Ressler walked into the post office, Aram was already there working on something.

“You’re here early.”

Aram startled slightly. “Oh, umm, yeah, I may have something on Mr. Reddington and Agen...err Liz.”

Ressler rounded the table to see what Aram had. “You found them? How? Where are… “

Aram interrupted him, not wanting to repeat the information again. He was not happy about searching for Liz. “Ms. Wright is waiting in your office. She’s been here for almost an hour.”

“Does she know we found them?” He hated having to give over all the information they found, but he knew they would all lose their jobs if they didn’t.

“Yeah, they have my computer monitored,” he shrugged his shoulders, “there isn’t much I can do about that.” He glanced around furtively to make sure no one was close by and whispered, “I do however have a laptop at home that could be used for covert investigations, if you know, you were interested in that kind of thing.”

Ressler patted Aram on the shoulder, this search was hard on everyone, but they had to remain objective. “You need to stop thinking of Liz like she’s family. She was a co worker, not a sister. The old saying that blood is thicker than water does not apply here.”

Aram, in a burst of courage, dared to disagree. “Family isn’t about blood, family is about people who are there for you through thick and thin.” Samar walked up behind him as he was instructing Agent Ressler on what family was. “It’s people who’ve got your back when times are tough. That is family, and that is where we are now. Our sister is in trouble and instead of helping her we are hunting her down with the intent of sending her to a deep dark hole she may never emerge from.”

Aram almost jumped out of his skin when Samar spoke. “I agree with Aram, Liz needs our help. I have heard from a few sources that Liz’s mother is also looking for her, we could use this to our advantage.”

Ressler looked at her sharply. “Have you told anyone else about this information?” 

Samar looked insulted, Ressler had a lot to learn about her. She wasn’t one to so easily turn on her friends. “Of course not, I was even thinking of not telling you until I heard the two of you talking.”

This information excited Aram, maybe the mother had information that could clear Liz. “Why not, instead of going after Liz, we take her mother into custody.” He glanced over at Samar with a mixture of awe and fear. “Agent Navabi could get her to write a statement proving Liz was not a Russian spy, thus clearing her name.”

Ressler studied the pair for a moment then glanced up and saw that Reven was looking down at them from the office window. “It’s certainly something to think about. I’ll go talk to Ms. Wright, Aram, use that laptop at home to find information on Katarina. We can meet up after hours and look at that angle.”

Ressler made his way to his temporary office feeling lighter than he had since this manhunt began. There just might be a chance to clear their friend and keep the Department of Justice happy at the same time.

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Mr. Kaplan stayed at the cabin while Lizzie left with Dembe and Red to the new location. They arrived under the cover of darkness using night vision goggles, ensuring that they weren’t tracked because lights were seen.

Once inside they took off the goggles and Dembe flipped the lights on. “All the windows are covered in black out curtains, so no light will penetrate outside.” He explained as he led them through the place. “There are two bedrooms and we will all have to share the bathroom down the hall.” He looked apologetically at Liz as he said. “There is no shower here, just a sink and a toilet.”

Red took Lizzie’s hand and led her to the first room. “Thank you Dembe, if the security is in place we should all get some rest, we will need it for the days to come.”

Once Red and Lizzie had used the restroom and changed into what they would sleep in, they climbed into bed immediately, they couldn’t risk a fire since the smoke could lead the enemy to their door. There was a small space heater but the cold seemed to sap what little heat it offered.

She cuddled as close to Red as she could, shivering slightly. “At least I have my own personal heater in bed.”

Red lifted her face to his and kissed her soft lips. “I know a way to not only warm you up, but exhaust you enough to sleep through the night.”

Lizzie didn’t need to ask what he meant and wasted no time in stretching herself on top of him. Red was quick to turn them and take control. He made love to her like a starving man, leaving many marks on her body, branding her as his own. When they finally reached completion together and lay spent in each others arms, Lizzie knew she never wanted to leave his side.

The next morning had them huddled around one of the small space heaters while they made plans to trap Katarina. Having Gwilym in the picture complicated matters, but the contact had assured them that there was only two guards with Katarina and Gwilym only had the one bodyguard. Careful planning should put them ahead of the game.

“Katarina must believe Gwilym has information that can assist her from my previous business dealings with him.” Red could not fathom what information that could be, he had only dealt with Gwilym twice. As soon as he found out about the underage girls, some as young as seven years old, he had stopped using him.

“I will go and check the perimeter. There is some fruit and cheese in the chest over there if you are hungry.” Dembe left them in the small room to complete his security check.

Liz knew from the information Mr. Kaplan had been able to gather that her mother had no good intentions for this meeting. Katarina would probably torture Red and herself for any information regarding the release of the fulcrum and the FBI.

A sudden thought hit Liz like a ton of bricks. “You know, when I went to the Director to show him you really did have the fulcrum, he said that I looked like my mother.” She heard Red make an involuntary growl at the mention of the Director, or maybe the fact that she had went to him, she wasn’t sure.

Red went to a window and snuck a peek outside before turning back to Lizzie. “The Director probably assisted in her ‘suicide’ and in keeping her hidden.” He chewed on his cheek while he thought about the implications of what the Director said to her. “We need to get Katarina out of the country and have her… questioned. She may have information that can help us take down the cabal.”


	14. Chapter 14

As Ressler, Samar and Aram landed in Russia, Aram couldn’t quite contain his excitement of being allowed to go on a mission. “I still can’t believe Ms. Wright sent us to Moscow.”

Samar flicked her gaze to him briefly. “She doesn’t know we are here to get Katarina and not Liz.”

“Yeah, we are taking a huge risk here, she specifically told us the Russian authorities want Katarina untouched.” Ressler knew they would have to play their cards right for this to work out.

They were met on the airstrip by a Russian SVR RF agent. “Zdravstvujtye, I am Agent Vasnev. There is a car waiting to take you to your hotel, we can talk after you have had a chance to refresh your selves.”

After Agent Vasnev left them at the hotel, they met up in Ressler’s room to talk. Samar watched out the window as the agent left the hotel lobby, got into a car and drove away. “I am surprised Agent Vasnev left, they must have others here to watch us.”

Ressler shrugged, not sure how they would get to Katarina’s place without a tail. “Aram, have you been able to get into their system and see if or what they have planned for the raid on Katarina’s place?”

“Yes. It looks like they intend to move tomorrow morning.” He scratched his head for a moment, confused as why they would go in broad daylight. “This is strange, Katarina will see them coming a mile away.”

Samar turned from the window and walked to look at Aram’s laptop. “That is exactly the plan, they want to give Katarina time to escape.”

Ressler’s phone rang, surprising him. He wasn’t expecting any calls while they were here. “Ressler… Dembe? Slow down, I’m having trouble hearing you.” He put the phone on speaker so everyone could hear.

There was a little static on the line, but they were able to hear most of what the bodyguard said. “We know you are here, we need your help… I circled back as soon as I realized there was a trap, it was too late for Raymond and Elizabeth, they were taken. Even if it means their capture by you, it is certainly better than what Katarina has planned for them.”

The call disconnected and Ressler immediately started working on how to get out undetected. “We will need to find some clothes that will help us blend in.”

Aram was not a field agent but he didn’t want to stand on the sidelines for this one. “Me too, right?

“Of course. If you hadn’t given me that impassioned speech about family I would never had argued with Ms. Wright to get us over here.” He lightly punched Aram’s shoulder. “We aren’t leaving without you.”

Samar smirked at Aram’s little dance and then the sudden widening of his eyes when he realized he would be going into a dangerous situation. “Don’t worry, I’ll watch your back.” She glanced down at his backside before sauntering away to see about clothes for them all.

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Red woke to find himself stretched out and tied to a metal table. He turned and saw Lizzie, she was tied to a chair not far from where he lay. Her head was bowed and her hair hung forward blocking her face so he couldn’t tell if she was still sleeping or not. “Lizzie, are you awake, sweetheart?”

She lifted her head slowly and with difficulty turned towards him. He could see her right eye was bruised, her lips were swollen and bloody, there was a large bruise on her left temple. He prided himself on being a master of his emotions but he could not help the rage that flowed through him like lava. He would destroy whoever had dared to touch her.

His violent anger was a tangible thing in the room around them. She had never seen him look anything other than in control. She had seen flashes of emotions but he was able to control them before most people could even think to decipher them. It was in this moment that she realized the depths of his feelings for her.

She needed to get him to refocus his attentions so he could think clearly. She spoke slowly so as not to split open her lip anymore than it already was. “I’m okay, my love. It probably looks worse than it actually is. Has that brilliant mind of yours figured a way out of this yet?”

He narrowed his eyes at her, she was trying to distract him. “Someone dared to hurt you, Lizzie, I will not let that go unavenged.”

Further conversation was cut off as the door swung open and Gwilym walked in, followed closely by Katarina. “See, I told you Kitty Kat, he has taken her as a lover to manipulate her feelings.”

He should have known, Gwilym had probably worked for or with Katarina for years. Red lifted his head as far as he could to watch the two of them. “Just when you think you have seen it all, and believe me, I have.” 

Katarina walked up to Red and skimmed her fingers up his torso stopping at the opening left where he had unbuttoned the first few buttons of his shirt and curled her fingers into his chest hair. "If I had known you wanted a Rostova I would have pursued you all those years ago.”

He had never wanted her, she had always come across as crass to him, not something he found attractive. Red laughed and shook his head at her. “You flatter yourself Katarina, you are no where near Lizzie’s league.”

Angered, Katarina gave his chest hair a sharp pull, earning a small grunt from Red, but that was not enough she wanted to hurt him now. She stepped over to Lizzie and grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled her head back. “Not so lovely now is she?”

Red glanced at Lizzie before returning his gaze back to her mother. “True beauty is not in the face Katarina, it is a light in the heart that shines brightly enough to illuminate even the darkest of places.”

Katarina roughly pushed Lizzie’s head as she let it go. “Well, let’s see if my ‘Gentlemen’ can get any information out of your light before he kills her.”

“I’ve kept her in the dark about my activities, she doesn’t know anything.” He needed them to listen to him, his soul would shatter if he had to watch that wretched beast hurt her.

She waved her hand between Red and Lizzie. “If I am reading this right, by hurting her, we will also be hurting you and I can… “

Katarina was cut off by the sounds of gunfire. She turned sharply to Gwilym. “I thought you said your man incapacitated Reddington’s guard?”

The door burst in before he could reply and Ressler strode in and put a bullet in Gwilym’s thigh and one in Katarina’s shoulder. He was followed closely by Samar and Aram, who hurried over to Red and Liz to quickly release them.

As soon as Red was untied he vaulted off the table and was at Lizzie’s side gently caressing her face, uncaring that the others were there . “Are you hurt anywhere else sweetheart?”

Ressler strode over to them distressed that he didn't get to them before anyone was hurt, but glad that they were alive. “There isn’t much time, the SVR RF agents are probably aware we aren’t at the hotel by now and it won’t be long before they get here.”

Aram glanced anxiously at Red as he approached Liz and gave her a quick hug. “I’m sorry you got hurt, Liz. We came as soon as Dembe alerted us.” 

He stepped back to allow Ressler to give her a brief hug as well. “You guys need to leave, Dembe is waiting not far to the west to take you to safety.”

Red had underestimated the bond between these friends, not something he did often. He would have to make sure that the three of them were properly thanked.

Liz was dazed, she had expected Ressler to stride over and cuff both her and Ray, not give her a hug. “I... I don’t understand.”

Samar stepped close now and pulled Liz into a brief hug. “We are taking in your mother, against the will of the Russian officials, and letting you go,” She gestured over her shoulder at Katarina and Gwilym lying on the floor behind them, “Hopefully, we will be able to get enough information out of the two of them to clear you of any treason.”

Liz was an emotional mess and incapable of speech right now. She was more than likely in shock. Red stepped forward and embraced the three agents. “Thank you. You have my eternal gratitude.”

Red walked over to Katarina and leaned down to make sure he had her attention. “How did you know who she was?”

Katarina gave him the best look of contempt she could muster considering her prone position on the ground. “You were careless. When you suddenly returned to DC, I was curious and had surveillance done on you.” She tilted her chin towards Liz. “In quite a lot of those pictures she was with you. I researched her, It wasn’t hard to turn her husband into a treasure trove of information.”

He had heard enough, Lizzie was right, betrayal was Tom’s MO. He walked back over and gently grabbed Lizzie by the elbow and led her out the door to make their escape before the Russian authorities got there.

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Dembe had arranged, before the raid, for the three agents, with Gwilym and Katarina in tow, to use Red’s private jet to quickly escape the authorities and get out of the country. 

 

Reven Wright was not happy that the three had defied orders and brought back Katarina. “The president is having a hard time convincing Putin that you acted against orders. They are demanding her return immediately.”

“Just give us a few more hours with her. Agent Navabi is close to breaking her and with the information we can get from her, I’m sure the leader of the free world can endure a little anger from the barechested Putin.” 

Ressler knew the President would jump at a chance for more information on the cabal. Since the media had started reporting on the mysterious group people were up in arms and demanding answers. He had promised the American people he would not rest until the group was taken down.

Aram knocked twice on the door and entered before Ressler or Reven could grant access. “We have it. Samar was able to umm, convince Ms. Rostova to share her knowledge of the cabal and to clear Liz of having anything to do with spying for Russia.”

Reven walked to the door and turned to Ressler before she walked out. “You have one hour to turn her over to the Russian agents waiting for her. I will need a full report by then to debrief the President.” 

Ressler stopped her before she left. “What about Tom Connelly, is there anyway we can exonerate Agent Keen?”

She looked at Ressler and Aram and seeing their hopeful expressions could not crush their hopes. “I will talk with the President when I see him. No guarantees, though.” 

The sound of the men’s buoyant optimism followed her out. 

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Red and Liz had flown to his private island somewhere in the south pacific. They were sitting on the beach watching the waves roll in and drinking Mojitos when the satellite phone rang. 

“Hello?”

He said nothing for a few minutes, just listened to whoever was on the other line. “Okay, thank you for letting me know.”

He turned to Lizzie with a smile. “You have been officially cleared. You are free to go back and resume your life.”

It was killing him not to beg her to stay. The choice had to be hers, he wanted her happiness more than his own. If she left she would take what was left of his soul with her, he would never be the same. Losing his family had taken a part of him, losing Lizzie would gut him. He would be a shell of a man, going through the motions, but dead inside.

Liz beamed a smile back at him. “Took them long enough!” She saw the hurt that crossed Red’s eyes so quickly she almost missed it. Silly man, like she would ever leave him. 

She stood and moved to his chair to straddle his lap. “They came to their senses too late, I have already found happiness in the arms of The Concierge of Crime.” She took off his fedora and placed it on her head.

Red let the tears of pure joy slide down his cheeks. He knew he was not worthy to have her, but he would spend the rest of his life striving to be. She looked so beautiful sitting on his lap, even with her bruises still evident, his fedora perched at a jaunty angle on her head. Her red string bikini begging to be untied. 

“The beach or the bedroom Lizzie.” He gazed lovingly into her eyes his heart bursting with his love for her. “I will need your answer quickly or… “

She cut him off with her lips on his. She would never get enough of this man. She would spend the rest of her life showing him how much he meant to her. She silently vowed he would never for a second doubt her love.

 

The end!


End file.
